This years’ Nationals road race was once again on a short, crit-like circuit in downtown Ottawa, partly within sight of the parliament buildings. For the elite men’s race we traded the sweltering heat and humidity of last year for much cooler temperatures and intermittent thunderstorms.
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For the second year in a row, Canadian Road Nationals took place in Ottawa/Gatineau. The time trial was in Gatineau and it was the same course as last year. As I rode this course as a junior last year, I was familiar with how challenging it was. The difference this year was that I was now competing in the U23/Elite category which meant that the distance of the time trial was 10 km
Canadian Road Nationals were off to a brisk start for Holly, Gabby, and myself. The Elite women raced an aggressive 120km in the classic heat and humidity of Ottawa. The course was combination of highway riding with a crit portion around the start finish.
We waited in anticipation under the shelter of the trees for the road race to get underway. About 15 min after the first group set out - elite men - we would roll out over the gravel parking lot. The day started at 36 degrees, it was a hot one.
My first elite TT Provincials, my first 40km Time Trial, and my first race on my sweet new Trek Speed Concept! All in all, I am happy with how the day went. It was a very hot one out in the farmlands of Langley, and the TRT racers were getting ready for a slog of a TT.
Both the Men and Women’s teams looked to continue their American stage race success this weekend at the Mutual of Enumclaw. The stage race packs a Merckx style TT, an evening crit and a tough road race into a two-day event.
With Tour de Bloom being the first stage race of the year everyone was excited to head down to Washington to test the waters in the American Pro 1/2 field. Paired with the beautiful countryside of Wenatchee and warm weather, we couldn’t wait to race.
The past weekend the team was fortunate enough to be able to head down to Tour De Bloom in Wenatchee, Washington. In my personal opinion this is one of the best amateur races hosted in the Pacific North West. Equal payouts bring in a large and competitive women's field.
This year I got the opportunity to race the 2017 Redlands Bicycle Classic with the Battley Harley Davidson Team. Redlands One of the toughest races in the US, so it was for sure going to be a good one.
I spent this past weekend in North Vancouver riding with some of the Cycling BC Coaches as part of the selection process for the up-coming Junior Road Nationals from June 24-28th in Ottawa, Ontario.
Race the Ridge kicked off this past Saturday with a double day of grueling 100km hilly road race followed by a hill climb including a 12% section for half a kilometer outside of Maple Ridge. The whole TRT squad showed up ready to race and prepared for a wet and cold day as all the forecasts (we checked them all) showed 100% chance of rain throughout the day.
Team camp is one of my favorite times of the year I get to ride in the sun with all my teammates and sponsors, can’t complain about that. This year Trek Red Truck headed to the very sunny skies of beautiful Palm Springs CA.
2017 Trek Red Truck camp took place in Palm Springs at the end of March. During the four-day camp the racers, masters, and sponsors took full advantage of the sunny weather leaving behind the rain in Vancouver! I would first like to say a massive thank you to the sponsors for financially aiding the racers so that they were able to attend camp. We would not be able to go on these incredible trips without your assistance.
What better way to kick off the road season than flying the red and white colors of the new Trek Red Truck jerseys, riding on some stealthy bikes rippin’ the gravel at Jeremy’s Roubaix on a sunny, warm Sunday afternoon.
Cycling is amazing because it's so true that as a team you are stronger then the sum of the parts. You thrive off if each other’s energy and drive – it’s pretty awesome. I am excited and hugely proud that I was able to do my job for the team at my first worlds and deliver the sprinters in the best fashion possible in the last several kms.
This trip is already just so good it needed a mid-camp blog post. So where to start: I am in Israel training for Worlds with Cycling Canada and the National Israeli team. The group we have here is a mix of U23 men, elite women, and elite men both from Canada and Israel.
The insanity is real. European racing is certainly a different beast then your typical North American road race. After racing some 10 races in my 20ish days in Belgium, the Erpe-Mère UCI race most certainly stands out in my mind as one for the books. This is mainly due to the insanity of it all; an insanity that could only be bike racing in Europe.
The best way to start this is with words from my coach: Belgium racing, like running into a brick wall, best to bring your hammer. After a strong Superweek and a spicy Cascades, the proverbial hammer was packed and I was ready for some fun on the other side of the pond.
Usually my best races are when I feel the worst, I have no idea why that’s how it works. However, strangely the second crit of BC Superweek didn’t work that way, right from the gun I felt great and it was weird.
Arguably the MK Delta Crit is one of the hardest races of BC Superweek. The circuit is rectangular with a fast down hill into a tight left turn on one of the long sides, and a grinding climb on the backside, and he start/finish is directly after the final left. Due to the closeness of the line, the race for all intents and purposes is a race to the fourth corner.