The Dirt Field

The Race: 2011 Philadelphia Liberty Classic

The Course: 57.6 miles, 4 laps

The Field: Pro 1/2 women

The Finish: 26th

Things I had been told going into this race:

• The European riders will be more aggressive than I’m accustomed to.
• The Wall will be hard, but manageable.
• I should be in the top 10-15 riders going into the Wall.
• The race would be very fast.
• The spectators would be very drunk.
• The competition would be a whole new level that I have not yet experienced.
• If a break goes, I should try to go with it. To finish with the front group would be an excellent day for me.

My biggest fear about the race was that being in the pack would be much more intense than anything I’d experienced thus far and that, considering how anxious being surrounded by riders makes me, this would make the race very difficult and intimidating. I was not worried about the Wall or my ability to finish, except for the fear that I’d spend too much time in the wind avoiding the pack, and thus tire and lose contact with the field. As far as results were concerned, I was hoping for…I don’t know…something? 5th? 20th? 50th? I didn’t know what to expect or what to want out of the race. Part of me was hoping for some miraculous, career-initiating result, while the other part of me was trying to be realistic. 

Lap One: Monika and I were on the front line at staging, but somehow that turned into standing in the pack by the time we made it to the start line. I was surprised that 125 women didn’t look like more people; not that it was a small group, but it didn’t look as intimidating as I’d expected. After the start, we picked up speed quickly and used the length of Kelly Drive out to the town of Manayunk to fight for position. I hovered on the left side of the pack but managed to stay out of the wind for the most part. It was more intense than a normal road race; a faster overall pace and a lot more moving around to get a position on the front. As soon as I would settle into a sheltered spot near the front, racers would surge past me and I’d be back towards the middle. It made for good practice guarding my place in the peloton and on desired wheels – I got better at not getting pushed around and making my way into the places I wanted to be.

Just before the road went from multiple lanes down to one lane on an exit ramp, things in the pack really heated up. Coming out of the left turn at the bottom of that exit, girls started hauling ass into the town of Manayunk to fight for a good place before the Manayunk Wall. It was like a crit there on every lap up until the right turn onto Levering Street. Then people held their positions, made the quick turns onto the wall, and started the ascent. The Wall was steep but manageable – it was about two blocks long, with the first block seeming less steep than the second. The noisy crowds were a welcome distraction and there was never a time when I thought I couldn’t ride it, but it was definitely the most challenging part of the course.

By the time I made it up the Wall, the field had strung out a lot and I had to use the downhill that followed to catch back onto the group. It was somewhat of a relief, though – during the pre-ride, I was nervous about the idea of flying down the roughly-paved downhill section in a tight pack, but it ended up that I was riding with plenty of open space on every lap and was in such a hurry to catch back on that I went as fast as I could. It was completely exhilarating.

After the descent from the Wall, the peloton regrouped back on Kelly Drive before another battle for position going into the climb on Reservoir Drive. I liked that climb; it was a grade that suited me and I was able to ride strong and make up position there. The descent back to Kelly Drive was fast and kept the field strung out moderately, and then came the left turn onto Lemon Hill. That hill was easy – stand, sprint, and then it was over already. A few more turns and we were back on Kelly Drive, heading towards the start/finish.

The next two laps were much of the same. Monika got stuck behind a fallen rider on the Wall and had to dismount and run; I got lucky and only had to put a foot down for a moment. The downhill after the Wall proved to be a blessing on every lap, as it provided the speed needed to close the gaps opened by the ascent up the wall. The endless fight for position became somewhat routine and it was satisfying to realize I was comfortably moving around in the peloton, following good wheels, choosing where I wanted to be, and not panicking. Other than a solo breakaway that was eventually reabsorbed, there were no breaks.

After the Wall on the fouth lap, the gap proved difficult to close, and even after getting back on Kelly Drive, the field was still 5-10 seconds ahead. I was exhausted and winded, but I knew that I’d recover if I could just get back on, so I chased as hard as I could and made it. Encouragement from Kacey M. helped me catch my breath and regroup before the Reservoir Drive climb, and I was tired but back in the game. Things were really moving by that point: we flew up Lemon Hill, raced back towards Kelly Drive, and entered the start/finish area heading towards the fountain at a strong pace. I got a good position on the right of the field as we went around the fountain, but had to start sprinting early (around 500 meters to go) just to keep from losing ground in the field. My sprint had me moving up steadily on the edge of the group (despite a near collision with another rider), but I started to tire with 200 meters to go and other riders began moving past me. I remember thinking, “This will be done in 10 seconds, just give 10 seconds more,” and going as hard as I could. I crossed the line in 26th place, maybe 20 feet behind the winner. Full results.

Do I wish I’d done better? Of course. I’m always hard on myself and hoping to do better, to get amazing results, to feel like there was nothing I could have done to be better. But I think I did well and I keep remembering the feeling in that final sprint – I was giving 110% and could not have done anything more. Having a leadout would have helped conserve more of my sprint until closer to the line, but that wasn’t going to happen and I did the best I could. I think finishing 26th place in my first UCI event with the top women/teams present is good. So why do I feel hesitant to be happy? Have I lost perspective on what to expect from myself? I mean, I have only been doing this for three months…but then again, I’ve been training and racing for several years in a different discipline. So what should I be achieving? And who the hell devotes this much head space to bike racing? Jeeeeeesus. Wrapping up now. Thanks for reading.