by Maghalie Rochette

World Cup #4: Tabor, Czech Republic
Who would have thought such a small bump could create such a disaster?! Certainly not me, and that may have been my biggest mistake of the day. In practice, I had ridden over that bump easily. So easily, in fact, that I never noticed it could cause a problem during the race. I hadn't even noticed it was covered in ice. But trust me, it was. Just picture of bunch of penguins trying to climb a glacier, and falling on top of each other. Trying again and again...Never finding traction, sliding back to the bottom, the pile of penguins getting bigger by the second. Then, add bikes to that scenario and you should have a pretty accurate image of the beginning of our race.

Don't get me wrong, it must have made for tremendously entertaining TV. I guess that's what we race for after all...putting on a show!

The only way to cleanly get around that disaster of a bump would have been to get there in the first 10-15 people (or to wear Ice Spikes, which no one wore because the course was so dry). Theoretically, that could have happened... I was starting on the second row after all, which isn't bad at all. But as the light turned green, the person in front of me on the start grid missed her pedal, and we found ourselves stopped, as 60 women were storming around us.

Anyway, those were only the first 2minutes of the race. By then, I was about in 30-35th position, already 1min behind the leaders. At that point, when I finally made it over that icy, mighty, evil bump, I came close to losing my shit. But instead, I took a deep breathe and embark on chasing mode. The rest of the race went relatively smoothly (except for another episode of Penguins on Ice on lap 2 - but the second time was way less dramatic in my case) and I moved up the ranks the whole race. I ended up 13th, happy about my effort, but a bit bummed about the result and circonstances. That's racing though. Lessons learned: Never under estimate the smallest of bumps.

Right after the race, David and I shared a "Trdelnik" - famous Czech pastry (dough in a tube form, coated with cinnamon and sugar) and jumped in the van for a 6h drive to Germany. This morning, we finished the last hour of driving to Hittnau, Szitzerland, where I am racing the EKX Cross Tour race this afternoon.

EKZ Cross Tour - Hittnau
One second I was riding, the next second I was on the ground, with a pile of women on top of me. I finally stood up, shaken. I wanted to stop the race right then and there. But then, as I picked up my bike, and everybody was gone, I realized I wasn't hurting. So I decided to keep going. I was dead last and I couldn't even see the second to last person... I chased the whole race as hard as I could. It helped that the course was fun; many long climbs and fun descents. That allowed me to push hard and pass many people. On the last lap, I was 4th and could see the girl in third. I surged hard to bridge to her, but then I tripped over a barrier...dumb mistake! I finished 4th in the end.

I was happy with the way I rode and really proud that I gave a good fight rather than giving up. But I was still mad about the crash, and felt bad that other people crashed as well. I'm not sure how it happened, because it happened so fast that I didn't see it coming. However, the start was sketchy. A narrow bike path for 150m, and then, straight into a right turn on gravel, with no fencing to prevent people from being on course. From what people say, it seems like I hit a spectator who was in the way and I was projected off my bike and straight into a pole with my shoulder. My bike took out other riders.

Moving on...

To express my main feeling from the weekend, I really wish there was an emoji of a person pulling on their hair. On the upside, I was feeling great and I feel like I have what it takes to race at the front. But to do that, I need to have a clean race...so for now, I'll focus on staying calm!

MECHANIC'S TIP
Organization
A big part of being a great mechanic is to be organized. David always makes sure that everything is ready fro the race, before the weekend even starts. Here is the little checklist he always goes through to make sure he is ready.

- Brake Pads : Make sure they are in goood condition
- Chain: Make sure it is clean and well lubed
- Cable and housing
- Spare parts: different size chain ringgs, bar tape, saddle, brake pads
- Water in the water tank pressure washeer / gas in the pressure washer
- Shop towels and cleaning/lube suppliess
- The basic tools: Pressure gauge, Allenn and Torkx keys, a disc/cassette tool, knife, pliers

IDEA WORTH SHARING
What a great community - Thank you for the help!

Today, I just want to talk about good people. This trip to Europe was a big deal for David and I. We were pretty much jumping into the unknown, but the help we've have from people in the cyclocross community has been incredible. Those people have shared with us years of knowledge and experience, they have shared their contacts, they have carried our stuff from a race to another, they have arranged for us to have tents, vehicles, and lodging over here and they are constantly sharing tips with us to make our experience better.

The race results are what they are, but what will define this trip as a successful one will be if we succeed in creating a good setup here, gain experience at races, and have a good time doing it. So far, these people who helped us are making sure this trip is a success. It fills my heart with gratitude to be the recipient of their generosity and it really motivates me to push even harder during the races.

It also makes me proud and makes me feel lucky to be a part of such a great community, where people race against each other, but also help each other succeed.

To everyone who has been involved, and there are many people, thank you. David and I would like to send a special thank you to Stefan and Helen Wyman (and their dog Alonso) for making our arrival so smooth and providing us with such a great set up. Stef set us up with the right person to rent a great cycling van. You guys are the best!

WHAT'S NEXT?
World Cup #5 Koksijde, Belgium - November 25th

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