by Maghalie Rochette
It's Friday morning. I am currently sitting on a couch in the Holiday Inn hotel room. David is already at the venue setting up our tent space. I'm doing some work on the computer, impatiently waiting for the course to open so I can go pre-ride. It's snowing hard outside, and it's cold. Typical Canadian weather... They are calling for 4cm of snow during the day, followed by 10-15mm of rain later in the day. The perfect cocktail for an epic cyclocross race!
I can hardly wait to be in the race. I'm excited to be on course, riding my bike, doing my thing...I feel good when I'm in that zone. But it took me some time to realize it! Last year, I made some big mistakes at Nationals, and eventually ended up second behind a strong Christel Ferrier Bruneau. She beat me, but I also beat myself that day. I wasn't on it mentally. I was devastated at the time, but it taught me some very important lessons about racing...one of them I applied last weekend at PanAm Champs: "You only need to cross the line first to win a race...". Christel is not racing this year, because she is pregnant (congrats to her!), but there are plenty of strong Canadian Women in attendance, so it won't be an easy task to win that coveted Maple Leaf Jersey. But that's fine with me, I'm excited for a tough battle.
Race Day
Throughout the day, the conditions kept changing. It started with frozen snow this morning, then it melted and we had some greasy mud. However, during our race, the mud started to freeze...That's one of my favourite things about 'cross. You have to be adaptable and the conditions constantly keep you on your toes.
My plan was to start fast and evaluate the situation after a few minutes to see who was staying with me and who wasn't. Catharine Pendrel, Sandra Walter and Jenn Jackson were fairly close. So in the first technical descent and off camber section, I decided to test them. In practice, I had tried that section as fast as I could to see if it would hold, so I was confident to do it again in the race. I was more or less in control at that speed, but I truly love that feeling, and it worked. The gap opened. From there, I just kept pushing to try and grow the gap. It was really cold outside, so it was necessary to keep pushing to stay warm...and you never know what can happen, so it's safer to keep going hard! Luckily, nothing happened and I was able to keep it clean until the finish line.
The Verdict:
1. After the last two weekends, I can fairly say it.... Canada has the FEVER. And that just fills me up with happiness.
2. I don't like new clothes, but...We have a small house and I never buy any clothes because I wouldn't know where to put them. But a new jersey? I'll make room for it... It will be such an honour to wear the Maple Leaf and represent Canada all season in Europe.
3. Man do I love cyclocross! I had so much fun riding today! And it was fun to have so many friends, David, and my dad being there to share the excitement....especially since my good friend Ruby West also won in the U23!
3. I am one lucky girl. Thank you everyone for the amazing support.
.And now? More driving on tap. More Celine Dion. Maybe a few podcasts...And tomorrow will be a packing festival as we get ready for our 3 month European campaign.
MECHANIC'S TIP
How to install bar tape
This weekend, to get excited for Nationals, David install 3 colours of Lizard Skins bar tape on my bikes. Red/White/Red. So I thought we would share a few tips on installing bar tape!
Every mechanic has it's own way of doing it. So there isn't one good way to install your bar tape.
• There are a couple of different ways to secure the bar end plugs and start the bar tape. It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you don't start rolling the tape flush with the end of the handlebars. (Otherwise, your end plugs won't hold.)
• You want to roll the tape from the inside of the bars towards the outside. (You want to be looking at the sticky part, not the grip).
• Make sure you do it evenly spaced so the tape has the same thickness everywhere.
• There are multiple ways to go around the shifter mounting brackets. The easiest is to use the little extra piece that comes in the package to cover the metal clamp. Then do a figure 8 around the shifter.
• Make sure you start wrapping the top part of the bars from in front of the bike to back of the bike (it should roll towards you if you were sitting on the saddle). That way, when you ride and hold the top bars, you are tightening it and not "unrolling" it.
• Cut the last little bit at 45 degree angle so that it finishes nicely and under the bars. You can roll it as far or as close to the stem as you like.
IDEA WORTH SHARING
"How I Built This" podcast
Cyclocross season means we spend a lot of time driving. David and I have already spent several hours in the car in the last couple of months. And although we enjoy each other's company, sometimes we like a little entertainment...especially when it can be educational. Or inspirational.
One of our favorite podcasts is How I Built This, from NPR. They interview founders of successful companies to understand where their idea came from, what obstacles did they face in building the company, and how they were able to differentiate themselves to have success. Both David and I find those stories very inspiring and fun to listen to.
I believe there is a lot to learn from those successful, creative, and perseverant people. I hope you will enjoy as much as we do :) Happy listening...and happy driving!
Each episode has something to teach, but some of our personal favorite episodes include the stories of....CLIF Bar, Ben & Jerry's, Lyft, New Belgium Brewery, Kate Spade, Lululemon, Stonyfield Yogurt, and more.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The time has finally come! On Monday, David and I are packing up and leaving to Europe for the next 3 months. Our first race overseas will be World Cup #4 in Tabor, Czech Republic.. on November 17th. Coverage to be found here.
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