The road to London began years ago. It began in those lonely moments after being informed that I was not going to the 2008 Beijing games. Two solitary clicks of the second hand,during Paralympic Qualifications,changed the path I was on. Along the way,there have been intermediate destinations and pauses for celebration. However,this past week was the first major step in making it to the 2012 Paralympics.
This past week I competed in the 2011 USA Cycling Elite Para-Cycling National Championships. On the line were five guaranteed nominations to the 2011 Road World Championship to be held in Denmark in early September. Making the World’s team is critical for one sole purpose:this year’s World Championships are the first event in which one can become prequalified for a nomination to the USA team. Prequalification is accomplished by winning either the road race or time trial at World’s…but to win you have to be there to race.
Nationals were held in Augusta,GA,home to peaches,southern hospitality,and intense heat. The peaches and hospitality I welcomed,but the heat…I must admit I was scared of. Up to my date of departure,Bozeman had only broken the 70-degree mark two or three days of the year. And as recent as two days before boarding the plane,I had been snowed on while training. Augusta,in contrast was in the grips of an early summer heat wave,with daily highs eclipsing the 100-deg mark. My concern for the temperature,though,ran deeper than the complexities of having to adapt to such heat. The fact was I had rarely,if ever,raced in temperatures exceeding 90-degrees.
My first event at Nationals was the time trial,which was also the race in which the five World’s nominations would be named. The day’s forecast was for 99-degrees,with a possible chance of thunderstorm in the afternoon. My start time was 3:31:30,the dead heat of the day.
Exiting the hotel in the morning,I was immediately hit by the pressing wall of heat. Seeking the advice of my seasoned AZ teammate Dave Swanson,I was armed with ice,ice,more ice,and bottle after bottle of water. But compared to the oppressing heat,this seemed akin to arriving on the beaches of Normandy with nothing but a slingshot. My only solace came in the 30% chance of thunderstorms.
Much to my surprise,the skies indeed would open up. As I rolled into the starting house,the rain drops merciless pounding knocked the day’s heat down to a much more tolerable 80’s. For 26:39,I basked in the endless downpour,stomping on the pedals. If the endless hours on the trainer had taught me one thing,it was how to thrive in adverse conditions. I crossed the line seven short seconds of catching my one-minute man,Ron Williams,the historic time trial favorite. Thrive I had! Clocking the fast time of the day for any single bike by 40+ seconds,to be crowned National Champion,and staking my claim to one of coveted nomination to this year’s World Championships.
The following day,I took to the line to defend my National Champion status in the Criterium. Unlike the day before,it would seem as though my fortune I had run out when it came to weather,with the heat packing a real wallop at noon in downtown Augusta. Feeling the effects of a rising core temperature late in the race,I was unsure of my ability to contest a final gallop to the line. Soon,I would have my answer. As we crossed over the start/finish for the bell lap,a rider in a different disability class had been sitting in for the entire race. He sprang free from the pack. A brief pause by the rest of us left him pulling away in a solo break for the win. I attacked the next two corners and the chase ensued…better to go down swinging. With 500 meters to go,I had caught the lone rider and surged on in my own bid for the line. Much to my amazement,this unknown rider had managed to grab my wheel while I was overtaking him,and in the closing meters managed to lunge at the line nipping me by a tire width. Because he was in a different disability classification,I would retain my National Champion status. However,knowing I had missed the throw made the victory a bit bittersweet. As it would turn out,the rider I came to the line with was Ramon Pino,a not-so-long ago member of the Cuban able-bodied National team,and seasoned veteran of the European professional peloton.
Saturday was the final test of Nationals. A short but hilly road race held at Fort Gordon. Due to logistics and scheduling I found myself making it to bed far too late,and when the alarm shrieked in furry at 5 a.m. I was left feeling less than prepared for the day’s course. An early start of 8 a.m. would help to keep the day’s heat at bay for the most part. But as the early kilometers ticked by,I was reminded of the toll the time trail and heat had dished out on my body. Recognizing that the course played to very few of my strengths,I forced myself to be patient and let others tend to chasing down attacks for the most part. For much of the race we,the peloton,would manage two solo breaks off the front,reeling the first break in just after the half-way point,and the second break 1000 meters from the finish. Just as the final catch was being made,I was forced to make a critical tactical decision on which wheel to follow. My first inclination was to launch my own attack. My coach had been trying to drill into me the importance of being patient and following wheels until the final meters of the sprint,so that scrapped that idea. I settled for following Jon Copsey’s wheel,as he had clearly exhibited that he had some of the strongest legs of the day. Just as I committed to his wheel,I saw Mark Gyulafia flying up the far left side…it was a perfect move. Even with a quick jump I had little chance of catching him. Mark is of a different disability class than I,and thus while I was not going to win the race outright,if I could still hold my position to the line I would win the C4 category and therefore net another National Champion crown. As I surged forward,I could sense that I was pulling away,but then a quick glimpse showed that in a role reversal Jon was stuck to my rear wheel. With 100 meters to the line,Jon pulled even with me…I was running out of gear and needed to make a shift. The slight lapse in power that came with gear shift allowed Jon to pull ever so slightly ahead. With the line nearly upon us,I surged with one more pedal stroke and threw the bike. It was truly a fitting finish to a wonderful week of racing. Jon and I spun down with no clue as to who had won the race for the C4 category. Spectators would say that initial announcements had given me the nod,however no one was willing to speak on official grounds.
As we stood around for the hour plus before the awards wondering who the final National Champion crown would go to I reflected on the entire week:
I had arrived in Augusta feeling nervous and not entirely confident on how things would shake out. Travel,weather and life had left me with few opportunities to race this year and truly test my legs. Living so far removed from my direct competition,left me wondering and speculating just how much faster they had gotten. In addition,growth of Para-cycling in the last year has been through the roof,with this year’s Nationals seeing the registration numbers double from the 2010. This meant there were a lot of new competitors that I had no knowledge on how strong they would be. When the dust had settled,I had experienced three wonderful days of intense competition,connected with teammates,caught up with old friends,all in addition to meeting new friends. Aside from securing my trip to this year’s Worlds,the most rewarding aspect of this past week’s Nationals was the sense of excitement and level of competition that is alive in the USA’s Para-cycling community.
Standing on the second step receiving my silver medal in the road race,I applauded and congratulated the 2011 Road National Champion Jon Copsey;he had earned it. The competitor in me was not satisfied with second,as naturally it would not,but the athlete in me was thrilled to have been pushed,tested,and beat. It is exciting to know there is still work to be done,skills to be perfected,and great competitors to be raced.
