The Race: Nature Valley Grand Prix Downtown St. Paul Crit
The Course: 28 laps, 5 corners
The Field: Pro 1/2 women
The Finish: 10th

This was my first double day and I wasn’t sure what to expect from my legs in the crit after a hard TT in the morning. There was enough time between stages to go home, shower, eat, generate more magical team moments, and head out again, so I’d nearly forgotten about the morning’s race by the 6:15pm start.

The start/finish stretch in downtown St. Paul.

Our team plan for the race was to make sure Brianna stayed in the Best Amateur jersey, maintain my standing in the GC, and make sure everybody survived the first crit. I stayed on the trainer to warm up while the rest of the team went to check out the course, with a plan to jump off at 6:00 and get to staging with plenty of time. This worked out well, except for the part where I missed the memo that told everybody to go to the line a day early. When I rolled around the course to the start, I was greeted by a wall of 94 female butts and ponytails.

It was an important moment in my racing career. A huge field, a national-level crit at the beginning of a stage race, and a guaranteed fast start, and I was starting all the way at the back. My initial instinct was to change my race strategy to survival, but that was stupid, so I decided to focus on moving up to the front gradually and shutting down any gaps that opened ahead of me.

The Hunchback of Nature Valley
[Photo by Stephanie Williams, Cycling News]
It worked well. It didn’t take long to slide up the right side of the field along the barriers, and by swinging wide in the corners, I was able to carry more speed and make up spots quickly. Within a few laps, I was sitting in the top 30. It took a lot of work to stay there, but I felt good and have learned to expect the constant hard efforts required to hold a good position. It was such a victory to stay up front and in control for the whole race. I was also confident in the corners and in handling the jostling in the field.

Cornering like whoa.
[Photo by The St. Paul Hotel]
The pace picked up in the last few laps, but it had been high all along and I was prepared to fight. I bombed through the last corner, stood to sprint, and realized quickly that my quads were cramping and standing was unsustainable. I sat down and was able to hammer across the line without letting other riders pass. I did a comically dramatic bike throw in hopes of edging out a TIBCO rider, but since I was able to see her back wheel while doing it, it may have been a little unnecessary.

I was hoping it had been enough to secure a finish in the top 15, but was later thrilled to find out I had finished 10th. Brianna kept the Best Amateur jersey, the whole team made the cut to advance to the next stage, and our team is sitting 4th overall. It was a great day to be in green.

Wee Bri raises the roof as the Best Amateur.

7 thoughts on “NVGP: In which I neither cried nor panicked”

  1. i liked this especially the bike throw. i would have done a headbutt to the thigh right before it though. great work and keep it up. super fun race. watch out for the mosquito birds.

  2. Nice work! Great to see you stay cool under pressure and lay out another great result. Green suits you!

  3. Wow, way to go Lindsay! To start all the way at the back and finish 10th in a national level event like that is just awesome. You should be very proud of yourself! And the team being ranked 4th…that’s just great! It’s amazing how much skill and confidence you have in crits these days. You have progressed and improved so much in such a short amount of time…my hat is off to you and your NVGP teammates!! Now get some rest, refuel, and get ready for tomorrow’s stage…good luck to all of you!!

  5. Nice work Lindsay! Top ten in that field is something to be proud of. I believe, however, that the terrible weather on the day following the crit was the cycling gods punishing you for mocking liverwurst eaters…

    All you other dirtfield readers must now bug Lindsay incessantly about why she mocks liverwurst!

  6. Top 10 in an all Pro-National level race. There’s only one thing I can think of to say. Can I have your autograph, pretty please! To make a dream come true. Is there anything better in life? I think not.

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