by Maghalie Rochette

3 laps in... It's raining. The course is getting more and more slippery. At that point, I've already led the race with a healthy little gap. I've dropped back to 9th after a mechanical. I've chased my way back to the front. And now here I am, sitting on the ground after having crashed, the Junior World champion is riding away, and I'm thinking: "Dang...what a day! I'm never gonna win this thing".

Now let's rewind a little bit...

Rochester! My favorite cyclocross weekend of the year. Why you ask? Well, for one, I love the course which has the best flow ever. There are always many people (and a lot of Canadians) so the vibe is always great. And it is a reasonable driving distance from home...bonus! I've done well at this race, but I also DNF'd last year, and that's where I decided to pull the plug for the season to take care of my health...so I felt like I had unfinished business!

We got there Friday night for the pre-ride, which I did with my friend Caitlin Bernstein, who was making a come back after being injured to her shoulder this summer. Instantly, I felt at home on this course and Caitlin and I had a great time following each other, trying different lines, and just enjoying a fun time on the bike. Towards the end of the practice, Caitlin tripped on the barriers and injured her knee, an old injury from her ski racing days. I felt so sad. Caitlin has a contagious love for riding. She loves pushing hard and shredding even harder, and I can say I've had some of my best cyclocross memories with her.

I felt sad for my friend, so decided on Saturday morning that I would ride this race for her, knowing that she would have given it her all and that now she couldn't do it. That's what I did, starting fast from the gun and riding as well as I could, taking the lines we had practiced together. In the end this didn't change anything to her injury, but Caitlin made me even more aware of the privilege I had to be racing, and I wanted to make the most of it.

Be careful what you wish for
Saturday was a smooth race, but it was a uneventful. I rode alone most of the time, and although I had to work really hard and execute well to create the gap (and although I enjoyed it), I need to admit I was a little bit worried. What worried me is this: It's one thing to ride alone, but racing with many people around you in challenging conditions is really different. And I was worried that I'd have a big shock at the first World Cup if I wasn't in a position to practice to follow wheels at speed and make tough tactical decisions to win battles.

Well, what I learned is that you have to be careful what you wish for!

Sunday came in, and about one hour before our race, the skies opened and the rain started coming down. What was initially just a small drizzle slowly became proper rain. We could see the junior boys racing starting to slip and slide a little bit. While I was warming up on the trainer, I sent David to scout the course, to see which turns were slippery, and which tires we should use. We made a last minute change and I switched from the all-around Grifo tires, to the low mud profile Flandrien. The race started clean, I was leading, then dropped my chain and dropped down to 9th while struggling to put it back on. I made it back to the lead group, went away to the front with Isabella Holmgren.

Now we have 3 laps to go, I'm in second place, 20 seconds down, and my ass is on the ground... (Right where we left off)

"Dang...what a day! I'm never gonna win this thing".

Why I love cyclocross: A proper battle
"Not with an attitude like that you won't!"
"Okay Magh. I said yesterday that this is what I wanted. Now I've got it, so let's see how I respond"
I shoved my glasses to the closest spectators (they returned them to me, thank you!) and jumped back on the bike. I told myself: "okay, fresh start. Get a clean bike. You actually feel great. Just ride smoothly. No mistake, create momentum."

I got the clean bike with higher profile mud tires and got to work. One turn at a time. Looking ahead, keeping a high speed, but being careful not to slide out. Slowly, I could see Bella closer and closer in front of me. Mom, dad, and David were all yelling time gaps at different spots on the course.
"You got this Magh".

As I finally reeled her in, I could see she was struggling to clip in on a remount. I couldn't clip in either, but thought I'd use this as an opportunity to attack. I accelerated past her and got in the technical section first. I still couldn't quite get into my pedals after the run-up, but decided it didn't matter. My gap increased on the next big climb. 1.5 laps to go. I hammered for one more lap to make sure I could create a gap big enough. "This girl is a fighter and she knows how to win races", I thought.

I finally crossed the line first, and Isabella got in a few seconds later in second place. What a fun race and battle! It was nerve-racking, exciting, and exhilarating. Exactly what I love about cyclocross.

In the end, I got exactly what I asked for. Isabella put me under pressure big time, I was making mistakes, and I had to make good decisions, adapt my riding, and dig deep. A proper battle, and it made the win that much more rewarding. I felt very thankful.

What a treat, and I'm not talking about the sausages!
Another thing that made this weekend special was some very notable spectators. My parents came to watch the race, as well as my good friends Lael and Rue. It would be Lael and Rue's first time at a cyclocross race, and my parents hadn't seen one in a little while.

It was such a treat to have them all witness this beautiful sport that I love. Mom and Dad got really into it, yelling me time gaps and cheering hard. They took Mia on the leash during the race, and she barked at me when I rode in front of her. What a goof! Rue captured the race with beautiful images and created a wonderful video. Meanwhile, Lael watched and cheered, and said that although she enjoyed being there, she doesn't want to try cyclocross hahah. Lael is the best ultra-endurance rider in the World, having records on all kind of different FKT and races (like Tour Divide, RAAM, Arizona Trail, and more). Although our Sunday race lasted 58 minutes, I think cyclocross is just too short for her liking haha!

It was a real privileged to show my mom & dad, as well as Rue and Lael, what David and I love to do the most. I felt lucky that they could experience a muddy race with all the chaos it brings. Mia, for her part, was happy about the Oktoberfest happening around the race, because she got to eat a German sausage for dinner, and our friend Geoff McGill also shared a sausage from his BBQ. Lucky girl!

I'm still buzzing from the weekend. The friends, the racing, the battles...I have a proper case of cyclocross hangover this morning. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

Thanks for following!

Maghalie

Next
Sept.30 - Oct. 1st: USCX Series round 5&6, Baltimore

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