San Dimas Stage Race

It all started at 5:45 AM on Friday, March 22nd…

Rising before the sun, I met my good friend, Sara, for 6:30 AM breakfast at the Cajun Kitchen Cafe to mark the completion of my second quarter at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I had a chemistry final from 8-11 AM, and then what was supposed to be a 2.5 hour drive to Glendora, CA for an uphill time trial–the first day of the San Dimas Stage Race. With such a tight schedule, the USA Cycling officials graciously gave me the very last start time of the day, 4:24 PM, so that I could arrive and have time to warm-up. I left Santa Barbara at 11:15 AM, made a couple necessary stops on my way out of town, and was on the road by 12 PM. I thought to myself, “I have plenty of time to get there!”

After four hours of traffic (Needless to say, I played VERY loud music the entire way as to drown out my stressful thoughts), I arrived at the base of Glendora Mountain Rd with 14 minutes to spare! My team director, Kurt Stockton, was there waiting for me with race wheels and numbers. Adrenaline pumping, I leaped out of the car, jumped into my kit, took a very much needed trip to the Porta-John, and (TRIED TO) ride calmly to the start line.

The clock counted down. “3.2.1. GO. OUCH. THIS HURTS. My legs feel SO HEAVY. This climb is a lot longer than I remember. Oh right, they extended the distance. OUCH. Was it always this steep? Four to six percent isn’t steep, Alexis. Get a grip. There’s the white tent. Almost finished. Give it a final kick. GO. OUCH. Legs, why can’t you just listen to me? Legs, stop complaining. There’s no complaining in bike racing. And there are also no excuses. Just go already.” And so I finished with a mediocre time. Perk of the day: having my own follow-motorcycle.

After what seemed like an entire week jammed into 12 hours, I was happy to arrive to a delicious dinner at our host house and to see all my wonderful teammates!

Day two. Stage two. Road race time! The girls and I were pumped to get out there and execute our team plan. We had extra motivation to make fireworks because the owner of our team and host of The Amazing Race, Phil Keoghan, came out to cheer us on and play photographer! Our race was to be 8 laps, 56 miles with QOM points on laps 2,4,and 6, and hot-spot sprints on laps 3,5, and 7. My Canadian teammate, Lex Albrecht, was assigned to the QOM’s and I was assigned to the hot-spot sprints. It was also everyone’s job to lay down attacks and try for a break. Over the course of the race, Lex was able to secure the QOM jersey, I racked up sprint points, but not enough to secure the sprinter’s jersey, and our teammate, Katie, road an impressive 4 laps off the front–SOLO. Lex and I made the final split of 8 riders over the last climb, but had nothing left for the sprint and finished 7th and 8th, respectively. We may not have won the stage, but we gave it our best effort and that is equally rewarding!

Third and final stage–the criterium. The racing was hard right off the gun, with attacks coming from all teams. Our team goal was to follow moves during the first half and initiate the moves the second half. My job was to conserve energy, but follow moves if necessary, and go for the hot-spot sprints and stage win– if it came down to a sprint. The first sprint wasn’t announced clearly, so the majority of us sprinted a lap too late and got nothing. There was a break off the front during the second sprint, so I was, again, unsuccessful in gaining points. As we reached the final few laps, I lined up behind the Optum train. With their rider, Brianne Walle, being in the sprinter’s jersey, I knew they’d be the team to watch. I was fighting in the wind for position coming into the last turn when Gillian Carleton of Specialized-Lululemon took a flyer up the right side. I wasn’t expecting it. No one was expecting it. What a phenomenal burst of speed she has! Unfortunately, riders tried to follow her and I became boxed-in against the gate. I didn’t have enough in me after the last corner to pass anyone. Crossing the line in 7th place was slightly disappointing, but it’s motivation for the future to be better and train harder!

Final thoughts: This race has been one big learning experience for myself and for my teammates. Instead of flashy results, I’m bringing home a sense of team-pride. These women are fighters; they never give up. They make mistakes, they admit to their mistakes, and they learn from their mistakes. I’m honored to ride by their sides, to learn from them, to laugh with them, to cry, to scream, to cook, to travel, and to create lasting memories with them (especially Snapchat memories). If this race was only a taste of what the future holds, then I’m so unbelievably excited and ready for more!

On the road again…

Just can’t wait to get on the road again (Gotta love Willie Nelson)! My next big adventure starts August 30th! I’ll be traveling to Europe to race with the US National Team. Our first stop is the women’s team house in Lucca, Italy where we will train for a couple days before heading to the department of Ardeche, France. Once there, we will compete in a UCI 2.2 six day stage race from September 3-8. The team’s roster will include myself, Erin Donohue (fellow junior), Andrea Dvorak, Emily Kachorek, Kristin McGrath, and Tayler Wiles. After we’ve showed them what ‘Mericans are made of, we’ll head back to Lucca to enjoy some fun in the sun, delicious cappuccinos, and great riding. I’ll stay there until the Junior World Championships in Limburg, Netherlands, where I will be competing in the road race alongside my teammates Addy Albershardt, Grace Alexander, and Erin Donohue!! If you can’t already tell, I’m REALLY EXCITED about this trip! It’s great to be representing the US again at the World Championships! This trip has been my goal since the beginning of the season, so hopefully I can make something happen Thanks for reading! Check back for race/life updates while I’m over there.

Official Team Announcement: http://www.usacycling.org/olympians-lead-elite-womens-jrs-riders-for-2012-road-worlds.htm

Link to Tour Cycliste Feminin de L’Ardeche: http://www.tcfia.com/

Link to World Championships: http://www.limburg2012.nl/section.php?sid=news_en&news_vmd=ovw

Shake N’ Bake

I’ve had several people recently bring up the fact that my skills of blog-updating are horrible, which makes me laugh every time but I realize there is truth in what they are saying. So here I am, typing away. I think I’ll start where I left off, ALL those months ago.

After racing in Belgium, I headed to Holland with the National Team where I was a spectator to the World Cup and UCI 1.1′s because my age wouldn’t allow me to race. No hard feelings though, I got to stand within 10 feet of Marianne Vos, Olympic RR Champion! Then we headed off to Italy where I drank too many cappuccinos, signed autographs, and raced alongside Giorgia Bronzini.

I came home, raced a couple local criteriums and the Sea Otter Classic Stage Race before heading to Speedweek in the good ol’ dirty south! Addy Albershardt and I went on a sweettttt two week road trip. Speedweek is seven days of racing with two days of rest and a whole lot of cash. We both made good money and I ended up with the U25 jersey! Unfortunately, my four-month-old smartphone was destroyed by some hooligans who thought pouring water on people’s things is okay. I guess drinking that one cup of coffee at that one coffee shop I found with my GPS just wasn’t meant to be.

Then I was pretty much home doing fun stuff and keeping it real until road nationals. I started off with wobbly legs in the time trial, coming in fourth. That provided me with enough fire for the next two days, where I grabbed gold in the Criterium (sprint finish) and Road Race (two-woman break)! Following road nationals, I had two weeks of track time before heading to track nationals in Trexlertown, PA. I came in second in the individual pursuit and won the team pursuit with Addy Albershardt and Nadia Latzgo! Unfortunately, I was crashed out of the points race leaving me with a broken helmet and a broken bike. I bounced back quick though, two days later Nadia and I were cruising the streets of New York City.

Now I’m just hanging out, enjoying life, and getting ready for my next European adventure: Junior World Championships in September! Hey, that kind of rhymes I hope you enjoyed this blog. I’ll try not to be so horrible at updating it. And if you feel it’s been too long, blow up my comments section with complaints and I’ll get back to it!

Race Recap: Le Samyn Des Dames

The race started out of a square in Frammeries, Belgium, near the French border. Almost 190 women bumping elbows! A couple of the big-hitter teams were there: Specialized Lululemon, Greenedge, Rabo Women’s, Lotto Belisol, Hitec , Skil, and of course the USA National Team! Our roster included myself, Amanda Miller (TIBCO), Andrea Dvorak (Exergy), Jacquelyn Crowell (Exergy), Megan Guarnier (TIBCO), Robin Farina (NOW), and Samantha Schneider (TIBCO). The course consisted of a 37km start loop and 4X12km loops, with a 700m cobbled climb every lap. There were about 7 roundabouts in the first 37km. I crashed twice in that first 37km. Ridiculous, I know. The first time I was sitting mid-pack on the outside left going into a roundabout. There were bowled gutters lining it and I got bumped onto the very edge of them. I may have been able to keep it up if the roads weren’t so slick from the constant drizzle, but they were and I hit the deck. I slid along the tarmac for a little bit, but jumped right up, popped my bottle back in it’s cage, cyclocross mounted and jumped right back onto the back of the peleton. I came away with some road rash, but nothing that would keep me from racing. I only got 15km before crashing again. We were on a wide open road when everyone decided to slam on their brakes, yell, and dive towards the middle of the peleton. I was, unfortunately, in the middle of the peleton. I don’t even know how I got on the ground, but all I could think was, “Not again!” and “I scuffed my brand new shoes!” One other girl went down; she yanked her bike to untangle from me and took off. I picked myself up, adjusted my brakes, and realized my chain was off in the front and twisted in my rear derailuer. I got to the side of the road and waited for Andrew Hawkes and the mechanic who were in the follow car. They got me back on my bike and motorpaced me back up to the caravan. I jumped from car to car and finally made it to the peleton. At this point we had gotten to the smaller loop and were approaching the cobbled climb. I was in the back, worst place to be. A gap opened a couple riders up and I spent the rest of the lap chasing back onto the peleton. I made it on during the second lap, right before the cobbled climb. I was in the back, AGAIN. Another gap opened up a couple riders in front of me. I spent the rest of the race chasing with a group of 13 women. I learned quickly that Europeans do not like working with you if you’re off the back. We finished 7:18 down on 1st place, 75th place for me. Megan Guarnier put a solid result in at 5th, though! After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed a Coke and headed to the ambulance to get my battle wounds scrubbed… OW… I cried a little bit. I crashed on the same wounds both times, so they were pretty bloody and ON FIRE. I’ve found more bruises as the days pass and my knee has been stiff. I walk like a cripple, but it feels great when I ride!

European racing is completely different from racing in the states, but it’s very exciting! I’m stoked to be here racing alongside the best female cyclists in the world and representing my country! I have race number two tomorrow, Omloop Van Het Hageland. Stay tuned for more adventures!

First three days in Belgium:

I left LAX on Tuesday the 21st at 7:53am and arrived into BRU on Wednesday at 6:50am. I didn’t get a wink of sleep the entire time and stayed awake for the rest  of the day. Needless to say, I was exhausted! That first day Jacquelyn Crowell, Samantha Schneider, and I were driven from the airport to Izegem, Belgium (1.5 hours outside of Brussels) where the USA Cycling national team house is located. Our bikes were assembled and we bundled up for an easy spin along the Roeselare-Leie canal. We got back and walked around Izegem for an hour trying to find a coffee shop. We passed right by it 3 times, but in our defense it looked like a bar! A lady named Nicole comes to cook us dinner every night, which is pretty awesome! I went to bed at 9:30pm that night.

Yesterday I didn’t wake up until 11am; that’s 13.5 hours of sleep! We left for our ride at 12pm, stopped to get a coffee 1k in, and then proceeded to be semi-lost for the next 2.5 hours, including a flat, before making it back to the house. The afternoon and evening were pretty mellow. Amanda Miller, Megan Guarnier, and Robin Farina arrived around 10pm; we all hit the hay around 11:30pm. I woke up at 3:30am (4 hours of sleep) and messed around on the computer for the next 4 hours because I couldn’t fall asleep.

I got off my bum and ate breakfast around 8:30am. Amanda, Megan, Robin, and I decided to ride some of the cobbled climbs on the Flanders course! It took about an hour of riding to get to some ACTUAL hills. It was pretty exciting! The first cobbled climb was Oude Kwaremont, which was 1.6 miles, with an average of 3.6%. The second cobbled climb was Paterberg, which was 0.2 miles, with an average of 12.6% and a maximum of 20.3%!!! All I can say is cobbles are freaking SWEET!!! I secretly feel like a BA when I get to the top After we got back, Amanda, Robin, and I walked to the grocery store. I got some REAL Speculoos, chocolate-coated Belgian waffles (those are treats for after the races!), and some fruit and veges. We had a team meeting after dinner to decide tomorrow’s route and it looks like we’ll be driving out to ride Samyn Les Dames, Wednesday’s road course.

That’s it for now! I’m off to bed; hopefully I’ll get a good night’s sleep.

Check back in a couple days for another update!

Thanks for reading!