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.
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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.
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.
Once at the race it’s always fun finding the right street to drive down to get to team alley. Of course we got this horribly wrong, pleading with the officials to move barriers as we were stuck on a street dead ending onto the crit course. With the Cat 3 race starting only the ninja-esques back up skills of Geordie saved us. We show parked the van and set up with time to spare.
Sunday morning at 7:30, usually the last thing I'd be up early inflating my tires for is suffering for 30 minutes straight up a mountain. In August every year though, local club Glotman Simpson Cycling puts on a fundraising challenge race, The Cypress Hillclimb Challenge, to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer Research. So last week Craig and I found ourselves up while the air was still cool suiting up to head up the mountain.
Racing BC Superweek is always a highlight of any BC racer's year. Racing with giant crowds in your hometown areas is amazing, having almost the entire Vancouver cycling community out to watch these big crits makes you feel the weight BC and Vancouver racing carries, and getting to throw ourselves in with the 'Big Boys' of North American crit and road racing is a chance to show off our sponsors and ourselves as athletes. That being said, it goes without saying that Superweek is a showcase for our team.
Gastown Grand Prix is arguably the marquee event of BC Superweek. All the other races are awesome – but Gastown has the biggest crowds, the biggest field, and the biggest prize purse. For us at Trek-Red Truck Racing, it also has the biggest sponsor turn out, giving us a great opportunity to show off our racing skills in front of those that support us.
Race reports often seem to contain a lot of "rah rah, go team!" mentality and miss out on the nuances that make cycling the beautiful sport that it is. We sometime joke that to win a bike race you just need to push on the pedals harder than everyone else. There's an element of truth in that, but it captures only a tiny essence of the complex mixture of attributes needed to be a good criterium racer.
The last race in the Tour de Delta is the UCI road race around the suburbs of Tsawassen. This year the course had changed, leaving a few parties confused, but ended up making it more exciting for the spectators as they were able to see the racers pass by the start/finish twice a lap.
Gastown is the biggest race of the year for the Trek - Red Truck team sponsors, and is a key event for most of the riders, allowing them to showcase their sport in front of a hometown crowd of friends, family, and sponsors.
I came into this season with a few goals on my list of races this year. The provincial road race being one of particular importance to me. Really though this race was a carry on of my targets from last year.
The Cameron Law Cycling Series is always an exciting race for Trek Red Truck. Close to home in beautiful Victoria, there’s sure to be strong competition, big crowds, and the opportunity to show what our team is made of. 2015 was no exception!