Derby Cup at the 2013 World Cup Venue




Start of Saturday's USGP

  Last weekend was the third USGP in Louisville, Kentucky! Known as the city of parks, and set on the banks of the Ohio River, Louisville is the site of the 2013 Cyclocross World Championships. The first time we drove to the venue, it seemed as though the edges of the river made one giant park with bridge after bridge connecting Kentucky with Indiana. Its home to one of the few cyclocross parks in America with a permanent flyover feature and terrain handcrafted to fit the needs of a cyclocross race. I had heard rumors that the women's elite field was big and pretty much everyone who was anyone in cyclocross was going to be there. A mini nationals, if you will. Plus a few of our Euro and Canuck friends too! Because I had actually earned a few UCI points, I luckily was not relying on a good random draw for my call-up. When Amanda Carey (my roommate for the weekend) and I looked at the start list Friday night, I couldn't believe it when we saw 58 names! This was going to be the largest field I had ever raced...pretty cool! In fact, we only had about 10 fewer women than men, that's nearly unheard of.

Saturday morning was spent talking sports with my dad, who had come for his first big-time cyclocross race, and rechecking my bike building skills. One of the many downsides to flying with a bike...the constant building and unbuilding, packing and unpacking! I'm always nervous when I don't have a mechanic to take one final look before race time. After a windy warm-up and making sure my dad understood the rules and culture of the cyclocross pit, I headed to the staging area. I was wearing number 26 which put me near the middle of the giant pack and a 4th row call-up. The start was at the end of a very long paved road which then made a sweeping left-hand turn to grass and within the first 90 seconds of the race, we would have gone through a set of barriers and over the fly-over. I knew the start would be critical because the areas which required dismounting would quickly become congested. And then we were off, despite my pre-race self-talk, I had a sub-par start and found myself at a stand still at the bottom of the fly-over steps. I managed to stay calm, but in hindsight, I wonder if that was the incorrect decision. As the race progressed, I felt like I was watching the race pass me by without my usual sense of urgency. One by one girls were passing me and I tried jumping on a wheel or two but my legs and brain were not on the same page. The minutes ticked by. I didn't make any mistakes per se, but I sure as hell wasn't riding strong! Finally I crossed the finish line in a miserable 24th place. I knew the stakes were higher this weekend racing against some very talented riders, but that was the worst performance of the season...ouch!
I sulked back to the car to find my dad waiting for the race recap. He doesn't know cycling, but he has that coaching intuition and a raging competitive fire. He didn't give me the chance to complain about a poor performance, but instead asked me how I was going to change so it didn't happen again tomorrow! Some things never change! I was having flashbacks from high school and college hoops. My dad doesn't allow excuses for poor performance or feeling sorry for yourself. I quickly learned that neither does my sports psychologist, fellow racer, and friend Amanda Carey!! Between she and my father, when we arrived back at the hotel I had a game plan and a new mind frame for the next race.




One of the three sand pits that claimed many victims and wreaked havoc during both days of racing!

 Sunday was a new day and I was ready for some redemption. With my focus on a much better start and improving my result by at least 8 places, we arrived at the course to see if any changes had been made to the course. I lined up 26th again and heard my coach TH's voice in my head...which in a censored version basically says "Do whatever it takes"! The start whistle blew and I had a much better start moving up and finding myself right in the mix as we rounded the corner to the first whoops and barriers. I planned on moving up at the barriers and fly-over, but just as I was ready to dismount my bike I felt my shoe click back into my pedal...oh!!! Before I knew it, I rammed the barrier with my front tire and supermanned over the bars! Quickly I jumped up trying to catch the wind that was knocked out of my lungs making sure all my limbs were still straight, picked up my bike and thankfully everything on my body and bike was still functioning as it should. Well, my great start was good for about 60 seconds! Then as we reached the first sand pit I saw the girls in front crash causing quite the pile-up! I dismounted and ran along the outside making up a few spots. I did my best to stay with a group of about 5 girls for the rest of the race remembering  my second goal for the day. I came across the finish line in 17th place. Still not at my goal, but an improvement from the day before.

It was a long trip to Louisville to come up empty handed...no UCI points, no money, and no top 10 finish to accomplish my season-long goal. Some racers might consider it a failure! But looking on the bright side, my rookie season was meant for learning lessons which I do every race, I may have succeeded on selling my dad on a sport that doesn't involve a ball of some sorts, and I learned that Amanda Carey is good traveling buddy-she never leaves home without a foam roller, she low stress, and she knows everyone!!

Next up is Jingle Cross, a 3-day event in Iowa City over Thanksgiving. In the meantime, I need some major recovery from schelpping bags around airports, waiting in airports for hours thanks to delayed flights, and sore body parts from crashing. Ahhh, the glamorous lifestyle of professional women's cyclocross! Oh, and I almost forgot...only 2 weeks before I put that physician assistant degree to good use. December 1st marks the beginning of a new journey yet again. Thanks to my dad and Amanda for a great trip. Thanks to Enve, Blue, Roosters and Biker's Edge for the continued support! Thanks to Chad Davis for always making sure my cross bikes are ready to go. And an extra HUGE thank you to Joe Johnson at SBR in Orem for hooking me up with a pit bike for the weekend! Last but not least, thanks to you for reading!

Kathy Sherwin driving our group on day 2 of the Derby Cup. Me sitting 4th wheel.