Bonelli US CUP UCI Juniors: April 14th, 2018
Going into my second weekend of back to back racing, I was more mentally prepared and focused on finding comfort in the pain. Bonelli is a fairly short course compared to your typical high school course and the UCI JR girls would be completing four laps.
BONELLI US CUP:
Morning of: I woke up around 5am in the morning, taking breakfast for the road, and began strategizing in my head the plan I'd take on the race course that day. I'd most likely be racing with the many of the same girls from the race at Fontana, so my personal goal was top ten. Warming up, I felt nervous because this was the race I got a mechanical in last year, but I also wanted to be competitive. Waiting at the start line there was competition from out of the country, so you could imagine that it was a little bit intimidating!
Start Line/Lap 1: After what felt like years, we were off! In the first short lap I knew that there had to be a little more aggression in my style this race, so I worked on putting out more effort to get where I needed to be. My legs began to burn as if they were already feeling tired, but I decided that it didn't matter and I was going to give 100% no matter what. Going down the first rocky decent there was a girl right in front of me and one on my tail. The course felt solid in regards to difficulty and the rest of the lap went more consistent than expected. The girl in front of me eventually got a mechanical with her chain on a climb and I was able to pass her. At this point, I wasn't sure on my placement, but I wanted to keep the intensity level up.
Lap 2: Going on the second lap, my goal was to make a gap on the riders behind me. Eventually I did, but this lap the UCI junior men began to pass us, making a consistent effort a little tougher. In a way, it almost served as a buffer because I knew my competition would have to deal with this factor as well.
Lap 3: Going on the the third, I could feel my legs getting tired, but the efforts were still consistent. Heading up the first short climb I began to see a couple of riders from my category and decided I would try to catch up with them. My heart rate was considerably high at this point, but that wasn't going to affect my mental state. Towards the end of the lap, I passed a rider and pushed to be consistent enough to create a gap of some sort. I could feel the mental encouragement hit me as I passed the finish line onto my final lap.
Lap 4: The last lap my legs were on fire as I climbed up the first small hill. I could feel my calves on the verge of cramping, but I tried to keep my heels down so it wouldn't completely lock up. This was definitely a more solo lap, but the effort was still there. Going over the finish line, I had made a gap on the people behind me and I knew that I had used up the whole tank (tank being my energy levels). I ended up 9th in the field on the day!
After: I spun out with my dad and reflected on the personal victories and aspects I could have changed. Although this race was a personal success I had to begin preparing for another tough day on the saddle tomorrow!
I would like to give a shoutout to the SoCal Devo Team for the continual support of both my coaches and teammates! Thank you to my sponsors: Ellsworth Bikes, ESI Grips, Kenda Tires, RideFast Racing, FTech, and Rudy Project for all of the support in making my biking accomplishments possible!
BONELLI US CUP:
Morning of: I woke up around 5am in the morning, taking breakfast for the road, and began strategizing in my head the plan I'd take on the race course that day. I'd most likely be racing with the many of the same girls from the race at Fontana, so my personal goal was top ten. Warming up, I felt nervous because this was the race I got a mechanical in last year, but I also wanted to be competitive. Waiting at the start line there was competition from out of the country, so you could imagine that it was a little bit intimidating!
Start Line/Lap 1: After what felt like years, we were off! In the first short lap I knew that there had to be a little more aggression in my style this race, so I worked on putting out more effort to get where I needed to be. My legs began to burn as if they were already feeling tired, but I decided that it didn't matter and I was going to give 100% no matter what. Going down the first rocky decent there was a girl right in front of me and one on my tail. The course felt solid in regards to difficulty and the rest of the lap went more consistent than expected. The girl in front of me eventually got a mechanical with her chain on a climb and I was able to pass her. At this point, I wasn't sure on my placement, but I wanted to keep the intensity level up.
Lap 2: Going on the second lap, my goal was to make a gap on the riders behind me. Eventually I did, but this lap the UCI junior men began to pass us, making a consistent effort a little tougher. In a way, it almost served as a buffer because I knew my competition would have to deal with this factor as well.
Lap 3: Going on the the third, I could feel my legs getting tired, but the efforts were still consistent. Heading up the first short climb I began to see a couple of riders from my category and decided I would try to catch up with them. My heart rate was considerably high at this point, but that wasn't going to affect my mental state. Towards the end of the lap, I passed a rider and pushed to be consistent enough to create a gap of some sort. I could feel the mental encouragement hit me as I passed the finish line onto my final lap.
Lap 4: The last lap my legs were on fire as I climbed up the first small hill. I could feel my calves on the verge of cramping, but I tried to keep my heels down so it wouldn't completely lock up. This was definitely a more solo lap, but the effort was still there. Going over the finish line, I had made a gap on the people behind me and I knew that I had used up the whole tank (tank being my energy levels). I ended up 9th in the field on the day!
After: I spun out with my dad and reflected on the personal victories and aspects I could have changed. Although this race was a personal success I had to begin preparing for another tough day on the saddle tomorrow!
I would like to give a shoutout to the SoCal Devo Team for the continual support of both my coaches and teammates! Thank you to my sponsors: Ellsworth Bikes, ESI Grips, Kenda Tires, RideFast Racing, FTech, and Rudy Project for all of the support in making my biking accomplishments possible!
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