I jump started my comeback with a weekend trip (first of August) to Sweden for the Team Time Trial world cup.  I will admit that from a riding perspective it was a little bit of a disaster, but the goal was to bring the mental and emotional lift to the team while hoping my body/legs could do something useful.  All in all… it worked for about 30 min.  Unfortunately, the race was 50-55ish minutes.  It did, however, give me a chance to reconnect with my teammates and to flip my physiological systems back ON. 

I came home and immediately jumped into a training block.  I quickly found out that I would need some base work in addition to all the other higher end stuff.  My coach made a quick adjustment, and I was off.  I actually felt terrible for two weeks.  I seriously felt like he (my coach) threw me into the deep end of the ocean and not the pool.  Basically, it was a matter of survival.  I locked in my head to the big picture build and to fighting through the initial phase of the training.  After a couple of weeks, I felt much better.  I stayed with the program…tried to do all the little things to take care of myself and to help my body respond to the training.  I worked as hard as I could, both mentally and physically. 

That was August.

Racing Block Update (Part 2)

Continued…

I went directly from that training block into a racing block to top off my engine.  The racing plan was a little crazy, but I benefitted from it last year, so we went for a similar schedule.  I flew from LAX to Linate, Italy on Friday.  I had a day to preride the Davide Fardelli ITT course with my USA teammate Jessica Phillips on Saturday.  We raced the TT on Sunday.  I had no real expectations.  I just wanted to ride hard and continue the build up to worlds.  I felt terrible, as anticipated, but the effort was good.    The result was a 2^nd place to Karin Thurig.  I was happy with the podium, and I was open for the Tour of Ardeche!

Jessica, Andrew (USA team director/mechanic,) and I drove directly from the race to Grenoble, France.  We arrived about 11pm.  We talked Andrew into allowing us to sleep a little bit later, and the next day we headed off to the team hotel (aka a campground) in the mid morning instead of the crack of dawn.  

Monday was a chance for me to soak in some more sunshine to help with the jetlag, recover from the TT, and get ready to race again the next day.  After our two hour drive, I went out for a 2 hour ride with Jessica.  I thoroughly enjoyed the company and the conversation.  Later in the day, the remainder of the USA team arrived to our campground and camping cabins. 

The Tour of Ardeche started Tuesday.  I was the defending champion, so my mug shot was plastered on the race posters all over the area and on the cover of the race book.  It was a little bit strange but still an honor.  I was also very excited to have the chance to race with our new USA riders.  All of whom are extremely talented and will do great things.  My plan for the week was to try to ride hard.  I did not know if the GC was realistic.  I wasn’t going to go for it, but I wasn’t going to rule it out either. 

After the Time Trial, where I was 2^nd to Soeder, I was in 2^nd in GC.  I was certainly in a position to go for the podium if we (me and the USA girls) could deal with Cervelo, the most powerful team in the world.  All was looking good in the 3^rd stage.  However, sometimes there are unwritten rules in cycling that you face in the heat of battle, and I happened to break one.  I cut my losses, and settled for an ez second half of the stage. 

The next 3 stages were dominated by Cervelo.  I think their train stayed on the front almost the entire race from that point on.  There would be no GC changes.  We did try to set up our sprinter, Shelley Olds, in the fifth stage.  We knew she wasn’t feeling great, but she still had the guts to go for it.  We tried to keep things together in the final 30k’s and then take her to the line.  Unfortunately, we were only able to help her until about 1km to go.  She still did awesome, fighting her way to 5^th. 

The last stage was a hard, short circuit.  I was able to get a few hard efforts into the bank for worlds.  I also ended up 3^rd on the stage…kind of by accident, as I had chased a late attack and was hoping my fellow USA compatriot, Evie, who had made the selection would be able to make a go at the win.  She’ll eventually get that…easy…no doubt.

So Ardeche was fun…hard but fun.  I really miss getting the chance to interact on a deeper level with the USA girls, so I really enjoyed the chance to answer their questions, share, and just be around them.  KMac, Shelley, Meredith, Jessica, and Evie are a very talented and cohesive group.  I expect them to do great things.  Thanks for the chance to race with you!

However, the fun was not over.  Once we finished the stage, about 6pm, my next leg of travel would begin.  I tracked down the German National team for my ride.  I went in the car with them, 1000km, to Nurnberg for the World Cup the following day…or I guess the same day that I arrived to my hotel!   I finally went to sleep about 3:37am.  Five hours later, I woke up, showered, ate, drank a pot of coffee, and tried not to think too much about anything!!

The world cup started at 11:45am.  It was actually my first time doing this race.  Even though the German press gave it hard reviews, because the circuit was not conducive to exciting racing, I thought it was a cool atmosphere.  Personally, it reminded me of my SoCal crit racing days… just more technical and a bigger lap!  It was actually crazy to see the inner part of the third largest city in Germany shut down for a cycling event.  There were spectators throughout.  It was on TV.  There were amateur races before, and a pro men’s race after.   It was a busy day. 

The race played out to a bunch sprint finish.  It was generally just too fast, and the wind was blowing in the right spots (if you wanted a sprint,) so that a breakaway was not going anywhere.  It was also easy enough to sit in so that the entire field would eventually go to the line.  I felt bad early and better later.  I tried to attack a few times to set up my teammates.  Each time I got away briefly, and each time my teammates countered and got away for a little bit longer.  But again, nobody was going anywhere.   The race would be for the sprinters, our deGoede included.  I spent some time on the front from 5k to 3k and then got out of dodge safely. 

Phew.  That was a heavy week of racing, and I was tired. 

Sunday night, I relaxed in my hotel room.  My team was on its way to Toscana.  I flew to MXP on Monday afternoon and then navigated my way to my base near Mendrisio.   Time to recover and fine tune.

Aaaahhhhh…. I really enjoy the solitude.  Some people do not like it, but I love the chance to get my head, heart, and faith walk dialed in.  It is especially easy to do, when I am surrounded by such beauty.  . 

I have had two days of rain to deal with, but today was a good day.  It did not rain, and I had a solid training session… I still have a few more to go before race day.  Really, though, everything I am doing now is fine tuning.  The investments have been made.   Now is not the time to do that. 

All things considered, I am happy to be where I am.  I have tried to embrace the adversity, and as is always the case with me, trust the Lord and look for other opportunities to grow, improve and make a difference.  As for the World Championships, I have no idea what will happen come race day, but I will leave what I’ve got on the race course.  That is all I can do. 

Special thanks to Shimano USA for setting me up with the Di2 on my road bike to help with my recovery.  My finger is almost better, but my shoulder is still quite sore.  It was awesome to have the electronic stuff.  It really made a difference.  BTW I have it on both my TT and my road bike now, and it is sweet!!!! Rain or Shine etc.

Also…if you have sent me an autograph request, I will send these out once I get back to the USA.  I see your messages!!!  I cannot guarantee delivery, but I do send them out ;)

FINALLY…Go USA!