After diving into the deep end of cycling - by racing my first UCI event in Italy (in 2008), our director Jim Miller sent Emily and me to France on our own! We traveled in a small BMW across some of the most scenic parts of Europe, up on the northern coasts of Italy and into France. The drive was very mellow; however, the gusty winds howled across the French landscape. It sure did feel like Wyoming! We arrived in the medieval town of Limoux after 8 hours of driving. The streets were very narrow, but the architecture was inviting.
Our new director, Chris Georgas was waiting for us at his hotel. Chris grew up in Canada, but married a French woman and at that time, had lived in Limoux for about 20 years. Chris and his wife had a small hotel, where he would take groups of cyclists and artists on tours of the countryside. He had helped many aspiring young cyclists over the years by hosting them in the many houses he had around the town.
We made ourselves at home and prepared for our next race, the Ladies Berry, French Cup race. This would be a 6-hour drive north. Compared to the previous weekend, this race was more low-key because we weren’t racing against world champions! I was optimistic that I would have the opportunity to contribute to the team and excited to work under the direction of Chris Georgas, an internationally respected director.
My story (as written in April 2008):
Time to Launch
I have my music blaring and a good book. I’m waiting for my food to digest so I can go and gorge myself with more. My nerves are going crazy and I think the coffee only amplifies this. I’m going to go really hard today, so I’ll be hurting at the end. Not sure what to expect, but the weather is ideal for me as everyone is complaining of the wind and chilly air. I smile inside and think that this can only be perfection. I’m tired of getting told that I’m not experienced….but by God, I am getting experience today and every day…until eventually they’ll say, “Wow, look at all the experience you have!” I do believe that a lot of wonderful people back home believe I have potential…my coach, my parents, my friends, Aaron, and people I don’t know. But I think today is the day. I’m going to fight!
From Limoux to Chateauroux for “Ladies Berry”
Vineyards along the French landscape, during our drive to Chateauroux.
Saturday, Emily, Mariah, Jasmine, and I drove the van six hours north to Chateauroux for our first French Cup race, the “Ladies Berry”. I’ll admit the drive went fairly smooth especially with me at the wheel; only accidentally shifting into second gear (from fifth gear while driving down the interstate)! I shall say that if my father were there, I’d have never heard the end of it, and he’d probably tell me that I was driving like a ‘woman’ or something, but he was the one who taught me how to drive….so we’ll blame the shifting issues on him.
Chris, our director sportif is getting the bikes ready.
Now, let’s fast-forward to the race. The race started at 2pm on Sunday with 150 cyclists, mostly French. Ironically, a woman stood on a stage near the start line and sang a French song that I had heard in the movie “The Trippelettes of Bellevue”, (an artistic French cartoon about a cyclist). Later during the race I also saw a sign that read “Bellevue”. First, we were paraded around the town of Chateauroux and arrived at the true starting line.
Immediately, the rain and the hail came, but I kept warm tucked inside the peloton. Getting pushed further back, I fought to move up, but the group was still. My first mistake in this race was not starting at the front, and therefore, I was too far back when the first break came early in the race.
It was about 30Ks into the race when the break came. The rain had made the roads slick, and when we came to a small bridge with a smooth surface, I could hear one by one the sound of bikes and people crashing, like a thunder of dominoes. Anticipating hitting the pavement, I steered my wheel and my eyes straight ahead and just missed going down. Immediately, I chased back onto the group. Already 20 women had split, and Emily was with that group.
The course rolled and wound along many small, golf-cart-sized roads onto bigger two-lane highways. We went through small farming towns where many people lined the streets and cheered. The rain was challenging as the white paint from the roads became very slick. Emily crashed in her group, but was able to chase back onto the breakaway. My teammate Mariah and I stayed together at the front of the peloton. Eventually, the rain stopped, and the wind helped dry our wet jerseys.
The race finished in Chateauroux, with a 5-lap circuit around the town. Each lap consisted of 2-180-degree turns, one of which was 300m from the finish line! Immediately when we entered the town, I encountered the fastest, most technical criterium I have ever done in my life, just after we had raced over 100K’s! All the sprinters moved to the front and attacked and attacked. I jumped on their attacks, but by the third lap, I was almost blown! During that time, a cycling legend, 50-year-old Jennie Longo, lapped the field! The lady is older than my parents, and she was winning a French Cup race! I have never been so inspired in all my life!! Wait till I tell my parents! Jennie Longo had on her old-school metal helmet and was riding a time-trial bike! Never had I seen such a sight.
We finished by coming almost to a stop, going around a 180-degree turn and just stomping on the pedals. I pushed as hard as I could go, but was no match for the sprinters. I finished….a HUGE improvement from last week. I kept with my teammate and positioned myself at the front of the peloton. Next week my goal is to be at the front early on so I can catch the break. After returning to Limoux, I emailed my coach, Frank Overton, my power files from the race and discovered that I had improved my power threshold by 7.5%! Each race, I’ll keep pushing myself further….and who knows how far I can go.
