Event Recaps

Writing up a race report is an opportunity for reflection: what went well, what didn’t, and how do I go about using the experience to pull together a better race next time.  So I’m going to briefly reflect on the past two weekends of racing, the good, the bad, and what’s next.  The first race was the second UCI MTB World Cup held in Yorkshire, United Kingdom.  I raced with the US National Team, so the race support was superb and my teammates were, well, mostly my BMC Mountainbike Development Team USA teammates.  Plus, cyclocross superstar Amy Dombroski who is now sprinkling in some mountain bike races with her ‘cross.  I can’t thank our race mechanic, USA team manager, or travel companions enough – all fantastic people!

We arrived near Pickering, UK on Thursday morning.  On Friday, I got my first couple laps in on the race course.  There were two notable spots on the course where I had to stop, consider the lines, and watch some riders negotiate the sections.  I had a solid day on the course, the tricky sections dialed, and a World Cup Sprint Eliminator to look forward to that evening.  A what? The Sprint Eliminator is formatted with multiple heats – first a qualifying run, then brackets are set up with heats of four riders, semifinals, quarterfinals, etc.  The top two riders from each heat proceed onto the next round – until all but four are eliminated before the finals.  The course was less than 2 minutes long with three short climbs, a stairway drop, a sketchy dirt corner, and an uphill sprint – my kind of race!  I qualified 8^th of 20+ racers and went on to finish 8^th.  In the Small Final, I was on the line with Katerina Nash, Tracey Mosley, Cecile Ravonel (Top-10 World Cup racer, Downhill World Champ, Top-10 World Cup racer) – whoa!   I learned that while I can start fast enough for a US ProXCT race, I was left on the start line before I even realized the whistle sounded in every single heat.  I need to work on that.

I was confident coming into the cross-country race on Sunday.  I felt good, I had trained well, rested up, and was ready to race.  My start was good despite a 71^st call up position.  I lined up along the right barrier, so I was outside of the first sweeping corner—right where I wanted to be.  Halfway through lap one, I was riding in 45^th.  Beginning of lap two, I felt my tire give way on a root and I ‘burped’ some air out.  What could have been a minor quick fix with a Big Air (throw in a little extra air so it doesn’t happen again) essentially ended my race.  I mentally checked out.  I rode the “B” lines to the pit, lost too many positions, took a wheel change I didn’t need, had some shifting problems, had too much tire pressure, hurt my back, and let too much air out only to be back where the problems began .  I got pulled before completing my final lap. Ugh, that was not how things should have gone.  I let a minor problem end my race.

Monday we traveled to Oberried, Germany (near Freiburg in the Black Forrest region).  Freiburg is one of my favorite cities in the world and the riding in the region is incredible.  We stayed at Steirebarlehof, a farm with two cats, two pigs, dairy cows, bunnies, ponies, and Emma (the farm dog).  Fresh eggs, yogurt, frankfurters, steak, and veggies almost every day—yum!  Two good days of training—you would be jealous of the roads!  The week was very therapeutic, to say the least.  I put Dalby behind me and looked forward to the Offenburg World Cup.

Offenburg is a keep-you-on-your-toes kind of course with lots of euro chutes (steep downhill drop-offs), some good climbs, and technical sections with names like, “Wolf’s Drop” and “Snake Pit.”  Spectators pay 15 Euro a piece to watch the race!  The course and atmosphere were just that good.  I only pre-rode on Friday since we had over an hour long commute from Freiburg.  I rode two laps of the course.  For the first, I tagged along with the junior and U23 women who were in Freiburg for a USA Cycling Development Camp.  We took our time and talked over all the tricky sections.  It was very inspiring to see some of these girls muster the courage to try some of these sections which were the most technical trails they’d ever seen.  I warmed up for the second lap and then rode a lap near race speed.  I pieced together the technical sections fast and flawlessly—I think the talking over the tricky sections helped tremendously.  On race day, I rode one of the most consistent races of my career.  Every lap was within seconds of each other and my last lap was the fastest.  I had no mishaps, was on the verge of cramping for the final two laps, had fun, smiled at spectators who were cheering on the last lap (which always gets more cheers)—I loved it!  The first lap was a cluster—and I’ve never been yelled at more in my life.  I could probably fight for positions a little bit more, dig a little deeper on lap one and take some more chances.  That’s what I’ll work on for the next World Cup in Mt Saint Anne.  Until then, I’m happy with my 49^th place.

Enjoy the ride,

Chloe

photo by US Cup

Momentum Endurance athletes Tyler Jenema and Chloe Forsman put on impressive performances this past weekend at the Fontana ProXCT event.  Sunday morning Tyler scored 3rd place in his Cat 1 XC race despite having to do a mid-race flat repair.  He said that it was the fastest he’d ever fixed a flat and with a rush of adrenaline he was able to chase down the riders who had passed him while stopped – a great performance for his second ever ProXCT race and the first race of his 2011 season.

The highlight of the weekend came later that afternoon when Chloe Forsman took victory in the pro women’s short track race.  Early on a lead group of five riders including Catherine Pendrel (Luna), Georgia Gould (Luna) , Emily Batty (Subaru/Trek), Lea Davison (Specialized) and Chloe Forsman (BMC Development) checked out from the rest and it was clear that the winner would come from this lead group.  Chloe rode wisely to conserve energy while maintaining speed through the corners so that she had just enough left for the critical late stages  when she knew it would really be crunch time.  Lea attacked early on the final lap and Chloe was able to follow her and then counter attack.  It was a drag race all the way to the finish and perhaps only a bike length separated them at the finish line.

This marks Chloe’s first ever professional win at a National-level competition and it was fantastic to see everything go well for her on course.  Several years of dedication, hard training, and the know how gained from previous race experiences went into her performance.

Congratulations to Chloe and her BMC team!  Here’s to more break through performances by Momentum athletes in the near future.

LOTOJA Podium

Congrats to Mike Birch for finishing 5^th in the 35+ citizen’s 206 mile LOTOJA race on September 11, 2010.  The LOTAJA course goes through three states, starting in Logan, UT and finishing at Jackson Hole, WY. With three major passes along the way Mike averaged a fast 20.3 mph with a finishing time of 10:09:43.  Certainly a big test of endurance and he came through strong!

Congrats to Momentum athlete Brian Ellis for his recent success at the North End Classic February 27th and 28th. After winning the Masters 30+ 4/5 criterium on Saturday, he was able to finish well enough Sunday to claim the omnium victory as well. Being that the goal for the weekend was to gain experience and get in plenty of intensity, the wins certainly were a nice bonus. After racing the Masters races each day Brian also did the cat 4 events, adding to the weekend training load. Full results from the 2010 North End Classic can be found here.

Momentum rider Sarah Lukas placed third in the U23 Womens race – congrats! Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR was a fantastic race weekend with some very challenging course conditions. This race proved to be a great close to 2009 Cyclocross season.  Thanks for being there and making it happen.