Back Across the Pond

The mountain bike season is drawing to a close, but not without one last hurrah. Sandra and Jean Ann are heading back to Europe to finish the race season with the final two World Cups. They will be racing in Champerey SWI on the 12th and 13th, and Schladming AUS on the 19th and 20th. They are both looking forward to finishing the season off strong, in an international field.

For these final two races, Sandra has stepped up, along with Pedal Magazine, to help more riders get the opportunity to race in Europe. She is pooling resources, her extensive experience, local knowledge, fluency in German, and management skills to organize a cost-effective, hassle-free, and fun trip - the inaugural Canadian Privateer Project presented by Pedal, September 9-21. For more information on the project go to pedalmag.com.

After being out of commission, after an injury sustained in a crash during Canada Cup #4 and sitting out a good part of the season, Jean Ann is thrilled to finish the summer with some World Cup racing. She will be competing as a member of the National Team at these races.

Sandra’s U.S. Cup XC #5 - Race Report - August 7 - Mt. Snow, VT

The drive to Vermont on Thursday with Amanda and Kaesy turned into a 12-hour adventure of its own, including Sheila the GPS taking us on some interesting routes, several pee stops (maybe I shouldn’t have made it a six-espresso day!), and the revelation of the short cup at Starbucks. My first experience with the eastern U.S. has been pretty good. It’s very pretty over here, with lots of green rolling hills and quaint towns that could have been copied directly from the Gilmore Girls.

Amanda and I moosing around in Hoosick, New York.

Vermont felt quite rushed, as we arrived late Thursday night and the race was on Saturday. I only pre-rode one lap of the course on Friday, which was just enough to get a taste of the steep, loose fire road climbs and rooty, rocky singletrack. Several mud puddles ensured there would be no chance of staying clean.

I was pumped for the race as I lined up on Saturday morning under sunny skies and to the thumping beats of pre-race music and an enthusiastic announcer at the line. I felt awesome at the start, easily surging into the top five on the first pitch only to hear Kika busting out the “wooh wooh!” of the Canadian train beside me. Nice! I stayed in contact with the world-class ladies at the front (Kika, Georgia, Katerina, Willow, Heather) into the first singletrack, but eventually had to settle into a manageable pace.

I'm having fun (and so is my ponytail)!

This was finally a race where everything came together - good legs, motivated mind, solid bike handling (although when I got tired in the final two laps of four, those started to go a little…), and no flat tires! I held onto my top 10 position for most of the race, battling it out with many ladies, until the final lap, where birthday girl Zephanie threw down an attack I could no longer respond to. She snagged 10^th and I had to settle for a hard-fought 11^th.

Maybe I paid for my super start effort with some fading at the end, but it was worth it to ride near the front! The nagging deep lung cough for the rest of the day and night reassured me that I had given it my all. Check out www.velonews.com for the Mt. Snow race coverage and a muddy portrait of a smiling post-race me!

The day after the race, I met up with Amanda, Kaesy, and Peter for a skills clinic on the Mt. Snow 4X course. Our instructor, Jay, was awesome, and we definitely benefitted from practicing pumping, cornering, and jumping. We even raced (I won)!

It's a race! Amanda and I racing down the 4X course on Sunday.

Now I’m chilling in a farm house near Windham, NY, doing things like riding my bike (shocking!) and having ice cream and espresso for breakfast (gasp)! I discovered something wonderful at an Italian deli here: espresso soda called Manhattan Special. That also tastes yummy over vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmmmmm…. I race this Saturday in the U.S. Cup final here at Windham Mountain!

Sandra’s World Cup XC #6 - Race Report - August 2 - Bromont, QC

After some inspirational words from Luna team manager, Waldek, I had my “Grrr” face on for World Cup #6 in Bromont, QC, and I was ready to rumble when the field shot off the start and up the initial 3.5km climb. I felt confident on the 6km course’s many slimy technical sections, and was sure my Bromont demons from 2008 had been exorcised. After a tricky start from a back-of-the-pack call-up, I powered my way into the 20’s, passing riders all through the first lap until the demons reared their ugly heads. I entered the steep, rocky S-turn descent that I’d mastered during training and, with a sinking feeling, experienced déjà vu when my front tire rolled off the rim and immediately went flat. I attempted to re-inflate the tire, but failed, so I rode and ran the flat the remaining 2km to the tech zone at the base of the climb, where Steve and Eric replaced my wheel.


This is me trying to catch up after getting a wheel change. Photo: Marie Devantier

The identical thing happened in the exact same spot at the Bromont World Cup last year, so I was not happy. Once I hopped back on my bike, I focused on the task of catching up, knowing I’d lost a lot of time. I steadily reeled in riders over the next two laps, but was pulled after three laps as the leaders were just about to come through. It was a frustrating experience for me, since I felt on track for a great result, but there’s always another race.

Thanks to Marie and everyone else out there for the encouragement, and to the guys at Xprezo for the tech support and positive energy, and SRAM for the fancy new hollow-pin chain after I bent mine in pre-ride.

Jean Ann is Back on the Bike - And Loving It!

After an extended period of time off, due to that nasty crash that I had in the Edmonton Canada Cup in June, I was happy to get back on the bike and try out my first mountain bike race since the incident. My friends at Golden Ears Physiotherapy had taken excelent care of me, in rehabing my injury, and with my back 100%, once again, I decided it was time to try out a race.

I headed over to Mount Washington for the BC Cup, with my teammate Ryan, Friday morning, and had a fun time trying to keep up to him on our two lap pre ride. When I asked him what intensity he was riding, he said ofhandedley "oh maybe 60%". Ouch, maybe this was going to hurt me more than I had thought.

The course was in excellent condition, perfectly dry. The last time I had raced at Mount Washington was at the National Championships in 2007, in which the course was slimey with mud and had me running up all of the climbs. Everything was rideable, and so fun.

On race day, the elite women started at the back of the men's field. Catherine Short and Joele Guynup, the current BC Cup leader, set the pace for the start, and then I started setting my own pace up the climb. My climbing legs were pretty good, and was able to start getting a gap right away. From there I was able to slowly extend my lead. It was a short race, only three laps, which had me finishing in about 1h and 15 minutes, nine minutes ahead of second place. I was pleased with this, since I came into the race unsure of my fitness and riding abilities after so much time off the bike. Joele came in second place, with Catherine Short close behind. Joele retains her BC Cup leader's jersey.

Another hilight of the race, was when my teammate Ryan came by me mid race with the lead Master's group. He was looking strong, and came through for his first Expert class win. The other Local Ride Racer there, Chelsea Bilsbarrow, also came through for a win in the Expert Women's class, making it 3 for 3 in the team gold medal count. Ryan is now sitting 2nd in the BC Cup series, and riding strong. We are all rooting for him in the upcommiong BC Cup finals in Sun Peaks on the 22nd.

Ryan showing off some gold.

Pickle won the Expert Women's category.

It was a fun weekend, and great to be back on the bike and able to race again. I will be doing a couple more local races, mostly on the road, in August, and then looking to a full and fun cyclocross season this fall.