As I write I am in route to Montreal, QC Canada before continuing on to Sydney, Australia for the opening races of my 2011 Para-cycling schedule. While in Montreal I will be racing three different times, 2 road races/ 1 time trail, in UCI classified P1 events where as Australia will be 2 days of World Cup racing. The primary goal of these races and really all of this year’s events are to obtain as many points for team USA as possible. At the end of the season the point earned by the entire team will be totaled to determine our World ranking and subsequently our team size for the London Games. In short, the future of the team currently rests in the hands of approximately a dozen of us riders crisscrossing the globe in search of points.
On a personal level I am excited for the upcoming races but wish that the weather had cooperated more in the preparation leading up to now. After investing nearly all my training on power and speed up until March, I had been banking on the weather allowing me to log the much need endurance miles on the road. Topping it off, nearly every weekly race opportunity in the area has been cancelled do to snow. Indeed being a bike racer in Montana has been particular tough and unforgiving. The rollers and blank walls of my garage have been my companions on far to many rides this year, making for the quality of these last few weeks to slip a bit.
However, the time to race is now, complaining/second guessing will make no difference. I know that I am stronger now then I was last year and eagerly anticipating pinning a number on. With a little luck the nervous energy will translate to pain tolerance, allowing me to push a little harder than I have in the past and go further into the red then my training may suggest. Success in Montreal this week would be a nice confidence builder heading to Sydney’s World Cup races.