This is one of the secrets I learnt in Belgium. That when you are coming to form, is to say you can feel it coming soon. And after this weekend and knowing what I have done the last two or three months in preparation, I know I am coming along.
So Niagara for me was a lot different from Derricks race. It was pretty easy for the most part and this is where I have to start using my head. So 6 laps of the 12 km loop for me, 6 times of Effingham. Not a very long race and I think because of the small field we had, nobody was going to go until the hill. So I made a mistake to start with just my jersey, vest, paper thin arm warmers, shorts and kneewarmers. My armwarmers were already soaked on the start line. During the first 8km of the race, which started downhill, I was freezing. Let me re-phrase this, frigin freezing, I was shaking for the first 5km so bad that my bike was moving. All I kept saying is as soon as we got to the hill I would warm up, and that I was tough and I was a cross racer. I kept saying if I drop out of this I'm never going to be the cross super star I want to be. I had to think about those miserable -5 races last year and all I was wearing was a skin suit. So, I sucked it up and the first time up the hill Merrill pushed the paced and I just sat on. When we got to the top two girls bridged up and we were on our way to pulling away from the pack as a group of 4. I didn't feel the greatest coming into the race but I knew this was the move and was willing to establish the break over the next two laps with these riders so I rode hard and we got away. The 2nd time up the hill I went for QOM points (which none of us were really sure what laps the race organizers had decided to do this on, but after the race I learnt it was the 2nd, 4th, and last lap). I kind of went over the line right beside Merrill and unless there was a photo picture, I'm not really sure if they picked the right girl who won it, but all well, my list of results being screwed up and getting the short end of the stick in racing goes on and on. If anyone remembers last year, nobody could get my name, team name or country right all on the same results page!
So after the 2nd or 3rd lap we were only down to 3, Merrill, Denise and I. 4th time up the hill I won it convincingly, so convincingly that the organizers missed me and decided I was third. They later changed it on their scrap paper but then never changed it in the final results. All well no big deal. I was feeling pretty good about my climbing and the fifth time up I kept it steady and couldn't believe I had a gap on Merrill and Denise again. In hindsight I should of kept this going, but I really didn't know how to beat Merrill. In the past, I've always had to work so hard to stay with her on climbs and now this year it's different. I'm always asking for the pace to be harder and scared to initiate it myself (except for my little blowup up fortune in the park loop with the guys last Tuesday night). I knew Denise wouldn't play into a factor at the end as we were always waiting for her at the top of the climb each lap. But what I didn't realize is that if kept going on the last lap it would of forced Merrill to ride harder to the finish. The finish ended up being really slow at the bottom of the climb. I decide to wait until about 100m to launch my attack. As I was waiting we caught up to two master men riders dropped from their race. Stupid me, Merrill yelled to them "on your inside" and totally caught me off guard and cut right around them. I was positioned behind them and had to say "going between you" as I said it they hesitated and moved together and I eased off and then tried it again. I got through but Merrill had already got her gap and I just rode to the finish behind her and was never able to close it.
It's really nice to be able to see my numbers after the race on my SRM and I know that things are really coming together. I guess Mr. Mazur from Mazur coaching had some nice words to say of me after the race. Merrill even said I was riding like a different person. Not to get caught up with all the positives, but I know how hard Derrick and I have worked over the last year and for other people to see the progress is kind of really nice. I know the fitness is really coming around and that it is the first step to my goal. Now I just have to start learning from racing and trying different moves in races to win. All the pieces to the puzzle are there, now it's putting them all together to have a better than ever result.
NCE
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