After a long drive, we made it to Tremblant and got settled into our condo. We opted for a spin on the road as the course was a bit too hilly. Friday was preride day and after 2 laps I felt confident with the course. It was my 5th year racing at Tremblant and the course has always been the same loop, either dry or muddy. This year about 1/3 of the course was muddy and the rest was bone dry. I went to bed with high hopes for the next day.
Right from "Go" I knew it wasn't going to be a great day. My legs were holding me back greatly and on such a punishing course a bad day is a terrible day. By the start of my 4th lap I was really looking forward to that finish line. I ended up 14th but was very disappointed with my ride. The next week I decided to take it easy and let my body and my mind get over the bad race.
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| Elite Women's Start |
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| Pretty much sums up how I felt |
Baie-Saint-Paul
After spending most of the week at the Bromont Cycling Centre, we headed to Baie-Saint-Paul. The sky was cloudy when we arrived but when we went out on the course for a few laps, it was fairly dry. The next two days leading up to the race were rainy and cold so the course changed considerably. On the Saturday preride the course was all rideable. By Sunday morning it was a mudfest. Most of the singletrack was running with some mud puddles over a foot and a half deep (I almost drowned in one). The singletrack descents were slippery but super fun. At the end of the day it was another disappointing race but there is still lots of racing to come.
Hardwood Ski and Bike
After a week of back to normal at home came the local Canada Cup at Hardwood. Saturday the Trek Canada team had a great preride and autograph signing with the racers. Despite the pouring rain in the morning, the course wasn't too slippery. I had the chance to ride with six young girls and one talented lady for our prerides. It turned out to be an awesome day and the racers' enthusiasm inspired me.
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| Youth Preride |
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| Autographs! |
Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day. The course was dry and fast, and I was very excited to race. The start of our 5 lap race was fast but I settled into a good position that I kept for the whole race. I ended up 13th and 4th U23 so I was pretty happy with my result. It is nice to have the confidence boost after a couple of disappointing races. Thank you to all the Trek Canada team supporters and to Pulse Racing for putting on such a great event!
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| Photo: Julie Rossall |
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| Photo: Julie Rossall |
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