chrisroph
02-06-2007, 03:21 PM
2007 Cyclocross World Championships
By now, most of you know that the Americans had their most impressive
showing ever, with 3 sliver medals at the world championships (junior boys,
elite women, and elite men). I was proud to wear the USA jersey, and of my
contribution—11th place and the second American woman.
I waited 2 years for a course like this; I survived the ice rink of St.
Wendel, Germany, was frustrated by the serpentine curves on the frozen
hillside of Zeddam, Netherlands, but was rewarded with damp fields and
perfect climbs in Hoogerheide, Belgium. I realize a “complete” rider can do
well on any course, but that’s beside the point—I’m relish the fact that I
finally got to race on one that played to my strengths.
Race day, it was still dark when we arrived at the venue. By 8:30 I was able
to go out for a warm-up lap—I wanted the course to myself, without the
spectators crowding at the bottoms of the three short but steep descents,
waiting for crashes, as they had been on Friday when we’d come to pre-ride.
While riding, I began to smile, because unlike on Friday when the descents
had been slick as snot, today they were tacky—this would be fun. Toward the
end of the lap, I ran into Katie who seemed to be in a similarly good mood.
Sometimes you just like the way a course feels as you warm up, and you can
tell it’s going to be a good day.
One of my goals for this world championships was to have enough points so I
wouldn’t have to start on the last row. That’s where I’d been the last 2
years, and each time I’d moved through about half the field, finishing 25th
and 24th respectively. I knew I was better than that, but also knew that
since starts weren’t always my strong point, I would have to line up
mid-pack to finish in the top 15. My 19th place finishes on 1/14 and 1/21
enabled me to meet this goal and I think I was the 26th rider called up.
The race itself was pretty uneventful for me, I just kept moving up. There
were two good climbs, with plenty of room for passing, which I liked. The
hometown fans from Portland and Seattle were appropriately rowdy so I knew
where they were in the crowd of 35,000. And I knew my dad was there too,
enjoying the spectacle of it all. I definitely missed not having Erik on the
course to tell me what place I was in and how close I was to next rider. If
he’d been there, who knows, maybe I would have made up those 7 seconds that
pushed me outside of the top 10. For this race, though, they make him act
like a professional. Since his race was 3 hours after mine, they didn’t
allow him to even be at the venue during my race (because if he was, he’d
run all over to cheer me on). Instead he had to watch bits of the race on
the TV. Unlike all the men’s and boys’ races, however which were shown live,
in their entirety, the women’s race was shown in 5-minute segments,
interspersed with the Australian Open tennis match. (But equality in men’s
and women’s sports is another topic altogether.)
Basically, this was just a good race; a race where everything came together
on the right day and no freaky accidents or mechanical failures occurred.
It’s the kind of day we all hope for. I’m lucky it happened on the day of
the world championships.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement—best wishes to all of you in
pursuing your own dreams, wherever they may take you.
--Rhonda
By now, most of you know that the Americans had their most impressive
showing ever, with 3 sliver medals at the world championships (junior boys,
elite women, and elite men). I was proud to wear the USA jersey, and of my
contribution—11th place and the second American woman.
I waited 2 years for a course like this; I survived the ice rink of St.
Wendel, Germany, was frustrated by the serpentine curves on the frozen
hillside of Zeddam, Netherlands, but was rewarded with damp fields and
perfect climbs in Hoogerheide, Belgium. I realize a “complete” rider can do
well on any course, but that’s beside the point—I’m relish the fact that I
finally got to race on one that played to my strengths.
Race day, it was still dark when we arrived at the venue. By 8:30 I was able
to go out for a warm-up lap—I wanted the course to myself, without the
spectators crowding at the bottoms of the three short but steep descents,
waiting for crashes, as they had been on Friday when we’d come to pre-ride.
While riding, I began to smile, because unlike on Friday when the descents
had been slick as snot, today they were tacky—this would be fun. Toward the
end of the lap, I ran into Katie who seemed to be in a similarly good mood.
Sometimes you just like the way a course feels as you warm up, and you can
tell it’s going to be a good day.
One of my goals for this world championships was to have enough points so I
wouldn’t have to start on the last row. That’s where I’d been the last 2
years, and each time I’d moved through about half the field, finishing 25th
and 24th respectively. I knew I was better than that, but also knew that
since starts weren’t always my strong point, I would have to line up
mid-pack to finish in the top 15. My 19th place finishes on 1/14 and 1/21
enabled me to meet this goal and I think I was the 26th rider called up.
The race itself was pretty uneventful for me, I just kept moving up. There
were two good climbs, with plenty of room for passing, which I liked. The
hometown fans from Portland and Seattle were appropriately rowdy so I knew
where they were in the crowd of 35,000. And I knew my dad was there too,
enjoying the spectacle of it all. I definitely missed not having Erik on the
course to tell me what place I was in and how close I was to next rider. If
he’d been there, who knows, maybe I would have made up those 7 seconds that
pushed me outside of the top 10. For this race, though, they make him act
like a professional. Since his race was 3 hours after mine, they didn’t
allow him to even be at the venue during my race (because if he was, he’d
run all over to cheer me on). Instead he had to watch bits of the race on
the TV. Unlike all the men’s and boys’ races, however which were shown live,
in their entirety, the women’s race was shown in 5-minute segments,
interspersed with the Australian Open tennis match. (But equality in men’s
and women’s sports is another topic altogether.)
Basically, this was just a good race; a race where everything came together
on the right day and no freaky accidents or mechanical failures occurred.
It’s the kind of day we all hope for. I’m lucky it happened on the day of
the world championships.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement—best wishes to all of you in
pursuing your own dreams, wherever they may take you.
--Rhonda