2014 #TrekCXCCup

2014 Trek CXC Cup 

Travel Recap:
          Wed FlyFrontier SNA-MKE
          Thurs Ride to Trek
          Fri Preride the course
          Sat Day 1 C1 #trekcxccup
          Sun Day 2 C2 #trekcxccup
          Mon FlyFrontier MKE-SNA

Hotel & Food:
          Super8 Watertown
          El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant
          Super Walmart in Watertown
          Trader Joes in Brookfield

This way to Trek HQ!

Cornfields of Wisco

Working the pits for David

Saturday C1:

          15th place call-up for the day. I really need to work on my starts, that's all I have to say about the beginning of the race. I was immediately back in the teens as the field strung out in the first twisty grass section. I slid out coming around a fast 180-degree turn halfway through lap one and had to pit for the pink B bike. I was a little flustered after this, but gathered my composure and was able to get my head back in the game. I made my way back through the field and eventually passed Katie Antonneau (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) into 10th position. The last two laps came down to a tradeoff with Nicole Duke (Marin-SPY) and Erica Zaveta (Amy D Foundation). Zaveta had been riding solo in the wind and slowed up for me to catch up and pull for the second to last lap. I didn't realize this during the race and in hindsight I realize I did way too much work there. After we caught up to Duke, Zaveta attacked on the final off-camber section, stringing it out and putting myself solidly in 10th position coming into the finish. Given this day was a C1 event, I was super stoked to know I was able to hang on with the top 10 riders and finish up in 10th. More UCI points and some cash in hand as we got ready for Day 2.

Sunday C2:

         My finishing place on Sunday echoed Saturday, but the races were so very different. I kept telling myself all day that I needed a good start, even practiced a bunch during warmup. But alas, a less than stellar start put me in a tricky position coming into the steep switchbacks. A second of hesitation cost me 3-4 positions as riders jumped off their bikes to run around the turns due to traffic while I tried to stay on the bike. I quickly learned that during bottleneck sections of the course on lap 1, getting off and running around riders/obstacles is much faster than assuming riding through it. At the time, it made sense for me to stay on the bike as much as possible, but after reviewing photos from the race and even seeing Tim Johnson running it when he was only 4th wheel, I now understand that getting through as quickly as possible is best in those situations.
          After that hiccup I had to work my way through the field again once I was back in the teens. With 4 to go I made my way up to 10th position and on the wheel of Crystal Anthony (Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies). With 3 to go, Sunny Gilbert attacked into 9th position, putting me and Anthony in a battle for the remaining UCI point and 10th place. I really couldn't believe that I was on the heels of Anthony for those few laps, it was quite surreal and she was seriously throwing down the watts on the straightaway. I held on as best I could and tried to make some moves, but we were matched, watts-for-watts and I was unable to make any passes. Coming into the final steep climb, I knew I was going to run it, but Anthony had been riding it the whole race and attempted to ride it on the last lap. However, she was unable to push the first few pedal strokes and was forced to unclip. This split second mistake allowed me to run up and over the top of the climb first and push all out to the finish, securing 10th place. I ended up having my best lap time of the day on that final lap.. must have been quite a rush to the finish line!

The bikes around Wisco:

Sidenote:

We also submitted our team's product suggestion form to the Walmart in Watertown because they did not carry Krema Peanut Butter.

#poweredbypeanutbutter

If you have any suggested markets or grocery stores where you'd like to see Krema Peanut Butter, please let me know and I'll get you a product suggestion form to send their way!