by Maghalie Rochette

It's Monday morning and we woke up to a white and cold paradise here at home. First snow! What a contrast. Just 24h ago, we were at the beach in Cape Cod, playing with Mia Dog in the ocean before going to the race.

And just like that, the domestic cyclocross season has come to an end for me.

Wait what? In October already? Are you not racing PanAms and Nationals?

Let's slow down a minute...

Wait what? What? In October already? Yes, the USCX series ended this weekend! Are you not racing PanAms and Nationals? Unfortunately, not this year. I’m choosing to go to Europe right away to compete at the highest level for the rest of the season as I feel this is the best way for me to improve right now.

As I was saying, the USCX Series ended this weekend with the 4th round happening in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This series was a big goal for me this year. After a harder season last year where I missed almost the whole North American season, I really wanted to come back and perform at a high level on this series. Would I still be able to win races after a long time? It was also important for me to support the series. This is the only cyclocross series we have in North America, and I think it is important for our sport to have a high level race series to follow as it consolidates the race calendar ensuring all the best athletes can compete together week in week out. With gravel racing getting bigger and cycling companies investing more and more in that segment of cycling, we've lost some top cyclocross athletes who had to make the transition to gravel, and we've lost some big cyclocross events as well who lose sponsorship to gravel. Therefore, in that current climate, it felt very important to David and I to bring the best of ourselves to this series this year.

Meet-N-Greet
I am glad we did. Honestly, what an incredibly fun fall we've had! One of the projects we wanted to implement was a "Meet-N-Greet" gathering event at each weekend of the series. We worked with the promoters to make it happen and every Saturday evening after the day of racing, we invited people to gather around the events food trucks with myself and a few of my pro rider friends to chat! (Shoutout to: Curtis White, Michael van den Ham, Raylyn Nuss, Andrew Strohmeyer, Vincent Baestans, Isabella Holmgren, Caroline Mani, and Sidney McGill who have come over the weeks).

It started slowly at the first weekend, but each week we gained momentum, and this week at Falmouth, we had around 50-60 people (adults and kids) joining Curtis White and I, engaging with us, asking questions, and sharing stories for over an hour. It was such a fun event and reminded me of how cool and passionate the cyclocross community is.

The Future of Cycling
I know I mentioned gravel racing is getting bigger and maybe has been stepping a little bit on cyclocross' feet over the last years. That's okay, I can understand the appeal of gravel. But something special revealed itself to me over this domestic season: cyclocross might be the best family friendly discipline, and it might be the most prolific funnel by which we get young riders into cycling.

We saw SO many kids clubs over the fall... I mean, THOUSANDS of kids playing around on their tiny cyclocross bikes. The way North American CX is designed, everyone is setup at the park for 2.5 full days, allowing the kids to come meet their favourite pros, allowing both kids AND parents to race, AND then to stay and watch the pros race to see how they tackle the same course they just raced on. It's a full weekend of festivities facilitating connection in the community and where everybody can find their fun.

And for all of that, I want to thank the USCX organization and every single promoters for making this happen! It was an absolute blast, and I've never been more in love with our sport.

How did the races go?
On Day 1, David gave me a challenge: Start with the fastest lap I could, then slow down in a rhythm, and finish with my fastest lap of the race. To me, this was really stressful. I normally start the race with an open mind and prepare myself to react appropriately to respond to the demands (other people's speed, attacks, conditions, etc.). But as planned, I started fast and Sidney McGill was GLUED to my wheel and rode really well. She made a mistake at the opening of the second lap and I was able to open a small gap...technically, I was supposed to slow down, but when I saw her mistake, I doubled down on the power to capitalize on it. After seeing how strong she looked, I couldn't let this opportunity to get a gap slip. The next 4 laps, I tried to slow down as planned, but it was agonizingly stressful. The gap to Sid was only 8-10 seconds, and although I was not going 100%, I still had to go at least 95% just to hold her off. She was fast and the course was fast so gaps stayed small...plus this was part of David's plans. He knows I like to hammer as hard as I could and get the biggest gap I can to feel comfortable. This time, he was challenging me to deal with a small gap and be confident enough to leave it to the last lap. On the last lap, as if it was a World Cup and the podium was within striking distance, I opened the gas and when to a maximal effort. I have to say it relieved me as much as it exhausted me.

It was a tight and stressful race for me...but I learned something: I was able to dig extra deep on the last lap when it mattered, and this is something I'll keep in the back of my mind for the next races.

Day 2 mud fest
On Day 2, as it has weirdly been a routine over the domestic season, the skies opened up and the ground became slick with mud. FUN! On the second day of racing, sometimes the energy level is lower...everyone is a bit more tired, and it gets harder to find the energy to get pumped to do exactly the same thing you did the day before. But when the rain came down, suddenly, the excitement level rose as the race challenges we faced were changing.

I started fast again, but by being so focused on going hard, I forgot one important detail: I didn't really know what the course conditions were like. I lead into the first corners and slid on my butt for the longest time. As I got back on the bike, I made a few more mistakes as I made my way to the front of the race. It took me a few minutes to remember that smooth is fast when it comes to slippery mud. Eventually, I found my rhythm and had a really fun time trying to combine power and finesse to go as fast as I could. I crossed the line first and felt really happy to seal the deal on the USCX Series overall win!

A focus on progress, new friendships, and good vibes
As I sit here at my computer on this Monday morning, I still have mud in my ears, and my heart is full.

I'm super proud and happy to have won every race of the series and to have secured the series title. Mostly, I'm proud of how David and I approached each race. Of course I made some mistakes here and there, but I feel like at each of the 8 race, we had a goal, a plan, and we were both focused on achieving it. That mindset allowed us to grow and improve meaningfully throughout these first 9 races of the season, and we now feel like we can bring all these learnings, experiences, and this confidence to the bigger races in Europe.

Another highlight of the domestic season was spending time with the Orange Living/Cervelo team of Chris McGovern. Chris, Charlie and the three athletes (Sidney McGill, Kaya Musgrave, and Jules van Kempen) welcomed us under their team tents throughout the season. This allowes David and I to travel with less equipment, it allowed us to come back home between the races, and above all, it allowed us to hang out with a group of enthusiastic, energetic, fun, and positive people. We created new friendships and felt inspired all season by their energy. Thank you for having us, we felt very privileged.

David and I are leaving in seven days for 3 months in Europe, but our hearts are full and this first part of the season has us feeling ready and excited for the challenge ahead!

Mia, on the other hand, is bummed to be back home...she sure loved the weekend in Cape Cod, especially going to the ocean every morning. :)

Thanks to everyone who came to say hi, cheered, and every one who has been a part of the North American season -- thank you for making cyclocross so fun!

Maghalie

Next :
Nov. 11: Superprestige Niel, Belgium (MAYBE)
Nov. 12: Dendermonde World Cup, Belgium

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