What a gift to get to race the UCI Gravel World Championships! From start to finish the trip was full of memories, love, joy, and discovery. We decided to make the trip into a family adventure and all 5 of us made the trek Italy! We arrived exactly one week prior to race day, and stayed a few days after. So many incredible memories
Leading up to race day the training was 'not optimal', but as an athlete who is also a mom with a demanding full time job, I am used to this, and because of that, it is easier for me not to stress and just 'go with the flow'. Although it can be challenging, i feel privileged to be able to juggle so many things I love. Carb loading started as soon as we landed with all the amazing Pasta, Pizza, Gnocchi, and more - the food was amazing (and a 7 day carb load is totally legitimate right? :P) . We walked about 10 miles a day exploring towns until 2 days prior to race day when i made the hard but good decision to 'chill' in the apartment while Jonathan and the girls went off to visit some cool historical towns.
I can honestly say that registration for the race was the most stressful part of the whole race. Registration was Friday and for some reason they could not find my UCI license in their database. The commissaire showed up after about an hour and cleared me to race - i was in another database but not the one the race organizers could check (??). In any case, i left registration a bit tired from the stress, AND full of appreciation that I could line up on Saturday to race my heart out!
On race day i woke up excited. Today was the day! I get to race my bike thru an amazing UNESCO heritage site, mountains, vineyards, and farms. It was going to be beautiful, painful, and an amazing experience. Lining up on Saturday was pure magic. I got into my pen 25 min early and everyone around me was chatting about how nervous they were. I did a little check in with myself ... how was i feeling? I was excited and i was incredibly thankful to be here, to race, and to represent Canada and wear the Maple Leaf. I can honestly say I wasn't nervous until the 30 second count down for our group.
The vibes at the start were amazing - so much energy! i got to meet so many cool people waiting for the start. My age group (45 - 49) was the largest age group (aside from Elite which had ~100), with 30 competitors. I was anticipating a fast start and wanted to be in the front to avoid any crashes or delays in the CX section at the start. Given this i was prepped for action and had a solid start, grabbing the hole shot and then backing off once we settled in on the gravel. We had a solid group that worked well together for the first few KMs until the first rocky descent. I had heard about this descent from a few people and was prepared for it to be really hard and super sketchy. In reality it was short and not very steep, but full of fist-sized rocks. I rode a line to the left of the field and passed many people - this is where we caught the first age group ahead of us and i lost track of where i was in my field.
I was positioning myself to be in the draft and quickly realized that i was a better technical rider than most of the field around me - better at navigating rocks, gravel, corners and especially the downhills. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much time i would gain or how little effort i had to expend to stay in the pack on these sections. The course was unforgiving for many. Of the 30 starters in my field, only 28 made it to the first checkpoint, 27 at the second checkpoint, 26 at the 3rd, 25 at the 4th, 17 at the 5th, and 14 at the finish! Part of the attrition was due to the cut off times (i'm assuming this happened before the 4th and 5th cut offs), but part was due to mechanicals, crashes, and the hard steep climbs on the course.
Thru to the first checkpoint/food station there were several times when i would look at the pace of the group and decide if i should stay in the draft or go off on my own. Ultimately the group size was too large for me to make much headway alone until the climbs and the first 25km of the course was relatively flat, so it was smart to stay in the group. At 25km we hit the first climb and got a taste of what was to come... i quickly gained a gap on the group i was with and held that into the second segment. Somewhere in that second segment i caught a girl and we worked together for a while ... well, until she pushed me to the inside on a corner with a sloppy pass and i landed drive-side down. I took a moment to assess myself and my bike - from what i could see the handlebar had been turned in and i had some scratches. OK, keep riding. Unfortunately the derailleur was pretty messed up. The gears were skipping around but i eventually found a few i could ride in. As long as i could ride, i was happy.
We hit a steep climb and i needed my easiest gear ... unfortunately the chain went into the spokes (and so did part of the derailleur. I pulled it out, pulled on the derailleur hanger and then started walking. I have to pause here to talk about the people. Italians are amazing. They love their bike racing/riding. The locals were out on EVERY SINGLE CLIMB cheering us on. I cannot think of a climb where there were not a bunch of locals cheering. It was just amazing. I really enjoyed soaking in all of their positive energy as i rode up the climbs. It made my day so much better. On this particular climb a guy saw me walking and told me (in Italian) to get back on my bike and ride ... that i could do it. I laughed. and then i thought ... well lets try. I shifted to ensure i was not in the easiest gear and hoped on and he gave me a nice little push to help me get going! and yes, after that i was determined to make it to the top of that climb on the bike :)
About 2 hours into the race i had the usual back, hip, and quad pain that is a reminder of how lucky i am to have survived the car that hit me over a year ago. I started my on the bike stretches on every descent and whenever i could sit in the draft and not pedal for a bit. This pain made me appreciate being in the race even more.
I knew though that i needed to stop and get help. the hardest, longest, steepest climbs were yet to come ... i did not know the terrain but i knew what the course looked like wrt climbing/descending. So i made a decision to stop at the next aid station for a mechanic. And I did. I explained in broken Italian and French and English what i needed (my easiest gear in the back and please make sure my chain does not go into my spokes!) and he said ok! I then asked for a toilet. no toilets (what!!?? - this is worth a pause too ... the course went thru towns, backyards, vineyards, and fields - there was no spot to duck off the course and pee without peeing on someone's vineyard or yard. A little different than racing in the usa :)). One of the guys at the stop said no issue, come with me ... and proceeded to take me into his home so i could use their toilet! How very nice! there was a cute little dog there that just loved me and refused to leave the bathroom which was quite hilarious. I refilled on water while i was there since i was already stopped. The bike fix and toilet stop took me about 7 -10 minutes and i was on my way again with two specific jobs i was focused on: (1) ride all the climbs .... no walking. i stopped to fix my bike and i would ride dammit! and (2) see how many people i could catch.
There were several gears that were unusable (skipping around) in the middle of my cassette but the easy gears and hard gears were solid. It was the best i could ask for and i was super happy i could keep riding. The rest of the race was spent catching groups, recovering for a bit, asking them if they wanted to work with me, and then catching the next group. after the half way point anyone i'd catch would say 'yes' to working with me but the next thing i knew i was alone again and they were somewhere off the back. they were fading and i was on a mission. I was feeling strong, had been fueling well, and was continuing to soak in all the positive energy from the spectators. It was a good day. I was working hard, and sometimes i cursed the course, but it was a good day.
The second half of the course had most of the climbing and it was unrelenting and very steep. At points i saw 25% on my Garmin, and it was all i could do to keep pushing the pedals to make it up the hills. The cheering spectators were out in full force and were a great source of energy and encouragement. On one of the final climbs, which was particularly steep and long and ended with 100m of very loose gravel, i was really struggling. Everyone was walking. I passed some of the pro women walking. Men were walking. I was the only one riding - but it was much faster than walking. so i kept going. When i turned the corner and saw the loose gravel it was tempting to give up and walk. just at that moment a spectator asked me if i was ready to push hard and ride to the top? only 100m left he said. I said i will try! and he ran beside me with a hand on my back the rest of the way up the hill! wow! I was really out of breath at the end of that climb but so thankful and full of joy for the comradery and the act of kindness that i had just experienced. I'll say it again. Italians are amazing.
I pushed all the way to the finish, not having a clue where i was in the field. I was so spent when i was done and when Jonathan told me i was 5th in my AG, i almost cried. What a day. What an experience. I am so thankful for all the help and support i had along the way. It takes a village to make things like this happen ... my coach got the engine ready, Element Cycles got the bike ready, and First Endurance provided the nutrition that fueled me (with pancakes, crepes, and cookies too of course). Jonathan was my biggest supporter, watching the kids while I did many long rides and races to prepare. And i had a community of support from others in my life ... I was touched by those of you who reached out to wish me luck and send me your positive vibes - thank you so much - it means so much.
A few other memories that stick in my head:
- The endless Vinyards and smell of over-ripe grapes
- the thick coat of dust all over my body from about 3km in until the end
- the people, oh the people!
- the warm feeling of the sun on my body
- the cool feeling that would last about 1 min when a spectator dumped water down my back
- the warmth and energy of the people (yes, again!)
And with that, my gravel season for 2023 is a wrap! My focus will be on Cyclocross and Esports for the next few months ... but you can bet i'll be back for more gravel in 2024.
