The Race: Tour de Toona Blair County Road Race
The Course: 90.9 miles…well, theoretically.
The Field: Pro 1/2 women
The Finish: 34th and satisfied
I was very anxious about being able to complete this race. Between the length and the significant climbing (7,000 feet of elevation gain), I wasn’t sure my already weary body had what would be needed to finish. In hopes of preserving my results, I even had a backup plan of bailing if I couldn’t stick with the field on the first climb…a plan that was discarded quickly when The Coach laid down the law and pointed out that it was time to act like a pro and finish the damn race no matter what. She was right.
Low point: Well, the race was hard. And there were a few moments where I did feel like bailing. But the main issue with this race was the minor little part where we were led off course…repeatedly:
“The breakaway continued to gain time on the peloton. When the margin quickly and unexpectedly reached 3:40 minutes it caused concern amongst the team directeurs who were alerted that the peloton had taken a wrong turn and was no longer on the race course.
Race officials neutralized the breakaway and allowed the peloton to get back on course. The entire peloton was regrouped with the breakaway riders 15km from the base of the decisive Blue Knob ascent. Officials restarted the race, sending the breakaway riders up the road first, followed by the peloton with the original time gap.
The breakaway riders gained one minute when they were notified by race officials that they, along with peloton behind, were directed off course for a second time, prior to reaching Blue Knob. Officials regrouped and restarted the two groups a second time.
In addition, traffic entered onto the race course due to a limited number of corner marshals that were designated to direct the race and the cars. Cyclingnews’ photographer Jonathan Devich was spotted directing traffic with a marshal’s flag in hand.” [Cyclingnews.com]
On the bright side, the first unexpected neutralization provided a much needed pee break. I’ve never seen so many women hastily strip and pee alongside the road without shame; in that moment, I completely understood the urgency and joined a line of bare butts squatting next to the SRAM support vehicle. The view must have been great from the helicopter circling overhead.
High point: When it came time to climb, I settled in, rode steadily, and even passed other riders. After the Blue Knob climb, I worked hard with a few other women to close the gap to the group in front of us. At the end, I finished strong with a sprint to the line (despite starting a little too early). It turned out that all of my anxiety and fretting was pointless, because I was not only able to ride all 90.9 miles but also the extra six that showed up on my Garmin by the end. Sweet!