I never thought winning a World Cup could feel crappy
So I’ll recap quickly to get to what you’re really
interested in. What happened in that
final minute of racing?
Luna goes 1,2,3...just not in expected order
It was a good race. I
had a crappy start again despite my best efforts and was playing catch up,
trying to motivate myself to reach the front.
By lap 2 I had caught the chase group and only Katerina could go with me
into lap 3, but Gunn Rita and Marie-Helene were always close behind. After leading Katerina for 2 laps I started
to pull away only to lose the precious seconds gained to a lapped rider on the
final descent lap 4. Again I worked all
lap to build a couple second buffer for the final descent. Georgia had been increasing her 20-second gap
on lap 1 and was now up to 43 seconds on the final lap. Coming down the last descent I was
smiling. It was going to be Luna 1,2,3
and Georgia had ridden the perfect race for the win and I had fought a hard
race for 2nd if I could just hold it together till the finish.
As I came out of the final woods with only grassy corners to
the finish, my heart sunk as I saw Georgia riding a flat tire in front of
me. That was the last thing I wanted to
see. It felt as crappy as leading a
world cup and seeing no one feels amazing.
For the final climb she had to get off and run and I was
left paralyzed with indecision. I
actually pleaded with her to be able to do something, to somehow be able to
jump back on her bike and kick my but to the finish, sitting up not wanting to
take her win, but not knowing whether to stop. I looked back to Katerina to see what to do,
but she was out of the saddle attacking the climb eyes on the finish. Indecision vanished and fight or flight
kicked in and it was a wicked sprint to the line. That was my race, the sprint to the finish
with Katerina that I had just spent the last 1h37 engaged in, but it should
have been a sprint for 2nd with Georgia clearly having the better
ride that day, just not the luck.
It was heart wrenching and easy to berate myself for doing
the wrong thing. Georgia was crushed and
I had won, but what had I really gained and did that matter? But who is prepared for that kind of
situation where you have to make a split second decision to stop racing for a
World Cup podium after being heavily invested in racing the last 1.5hrs, the last
year, the last 6 years? When how you would
race if it weren’t your teammate that flatted, but rather someone from another
country or trade team would be a no brainer for both you and those watching no
matter how much it sucked for the rider of the day?
On Luna we have always been proud of what we do as a team,
but we have also faced each other as our stiffest competition domestically and
internationally for years. The idea of
giving up a win or being handed a win does not sit well with any of us. We are good because we are all strong,
competitive women that want to earn our results and aren’t afraid to fight for
them. The only possible exception is
winning your first world cup at home and being caught by two teammates in the
last seconds of racing … but I guess this scenario never came up in conversation.
On retrospect I would have loved to jump off my bike and
have Katerina follow my lead and challenge the three to an even fielded running
race. This would have showed the unity
and competitiveness of our team and given Georgia a fair chance at maintaining
the lead she had won, given Katerina a chance to score her first World Cup win,
all with out us having to sit up and neutralize the race, all getting to feel
we had the chance to give everything. But
you only think of this afterwards while you punish yourself for being a
competitor above a teammate.
Comments
Cycling is truly different and certainly is a more "gentlemanly" sport. What other type of racing affords competitors the opportunity to "chat" with one an other during the heat of the battle. Cyclist share side by side, nose to tail in their suffering. This alone creates a bond you won't find on other race courses. Once strapped in, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhart or Gilles Villenue and Alain Post could rely on horsepower and guts to power past an opponent without a second thought. Those guys never know what it's like to hear your closest rivals breathing so hard they're about to vomit, or to feel the burn in they're quads or cramps in they're calves. Trying to hold onto a lead or close a gap.
My point is, cyclist really do "feel each others pain" and that brings us closer.
Thank you Catharine for being a wicked tough competitor and for being a wicked good person. Maybe Contador could take a few lessons from you.
.
Its sad what happened yesterday but in races things can always happen and sometimes not the way we wish for. Your World Cup winning is so well deserved as you fought so hard for it, not only yesterday but in many races. You have been racing so strong and it is the best out there for sure. Is hard no to think about yesterday and how you wished for a different ending/finishing.
You are an amazing teammate and they know that. Congratulations on such an amazing season so far and this big winning. Is so great to see you showing the competition why you are wearing the rainbow color.
Take care, Jackie
Congrats on the victory for the Team. Nice post and good luck in the next big event! ;-)