Weekend of Racing

First things first… I’d like to give a shout out to my husband for driving me around all weekend and cheering me on at my races! Also, thanks to my Aunt Carol and Uncle Doug for feeding me two nights in a row! It was another fun weekend of racing with Stevens p/b Pactimo and the weather was hot, hot, hot! Saturday kicked off with a 120km road race in Winters. The course had one very steep, punchy, and drawn out climb and the rest of the course was pretty much flat with a few rollers. There was a bit of confusion and chaos with team tactics but in the end, we had two of our girls on the podium. Marley Smith took first after breaking away solo on the last lap and I came in third overall. I lost by a fraction of an inch to Mary Maroon in the final sprint. Six of us remained in the follow group (4 of us from Stevens) as we managed to drop the rest of the field. Although the race started out at a relatively slow pace, the intensity increased on the second lap and by the third lap I was feeling the pain of constantly attacking. Overall, it was a fun day.

On Sunday, I woke up with stiff legs! The Vacaville Grand Prix criterium started just before noon and the wind was blowing like crazy! The course was very technical with eight tricky turns and a steep little climb (me likey). Attacks started from the beginning of the race and the pace never let up. I was in a breakaway of six riders for most of the race. Maura Kinsella from Vanderkitten broke away with four laps to go and exhibited her strength by staying away on a very difficult course. Amy T and I did most of the work in the breakaway and I personally was exhausted by the final two laps. I did not plan my nutrition correctly and only had water in my bidon. In the end, I found myself in a bad position on the final sprint and took 5th while Amy took 4th. I was happy with the finish and the effort I put forward. I much prefer crits with hills! All in all, it was a great weekend for Stevens p/b Pactimo. By the way, pictured below are some cycling super foods: seafood paella, organic yogurt, and chocolate chip pancakes… Boo yah!