Category: Elite Women XC Result: 16th STXC Result: 13th After a sunny week in California with the team, 11am Saturday morning found Kelsey and I at the venue, packing ice vests, preparing for a brutal 6+ laps of racing in the heat. Warming up, my legs felt really good. I knew I was more recovered coming into this weekend than to Fontana and was chomping to get to the line. I rolled to the line third row. The gun fired and we were off. A stressful start lap of knocking bars and narrowly avoiding collisions later, we started off on our first lap. I was somewhere mid pack on the start loop and more or less in the same position going into the first lap. I grabbed the wheels of the group in front of me as we made our way into the first descent. My lines were smooth and I felt focused, but the heat was pounding in my ears. Lap after lap I slowly picked riders off, trying to eat and hydrate and battle through the high 90s temperatures. I could tell people who went out hard at the start were blowing up once we were well into the race. On lap three I found myself chasing up to Sofia Villa Fane. We battled back and forth for the next three laps, but I could feel myself suffering from the heat. I finished 16th after a tight finish, happy with where I’m at and having once again learned a lot. Next day was STXC, and time to jump right back in the hurt box. After a delayed start the Elite ladies lined up once again for 15 minutes + 2 laps. The first Short Track I ever did was as a Junior at Bonelli in the Elite field, and I was excited to be back with a little more experience in my back pocket. After some wise words at the start line from Josh we were off. I struggled to clip in at the start and then found myself at the back of a big lead group. For the first few laps a small group of us dangled off the back. I put in a few attacks and caught up to the lead group but then fell of once we would hit the climb. Toward the end of the race I started to feel better and caught up to Hannah and Emily’s wheel. With one lap to go I attacked and Emily followed. She got in front on the descent before I made a final attack going through the feed zone and rolled in for 13th. It was a very tactical race and I was happy to have found some legs at the end and ridden a successful race. I’m leaving this three week racing block motivated and incredibly grateful for everything Cammie, Josh, John, and Dario do to support the team and make it run so successfully.
Next up, Soldier Hollow ProXCT!
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Category: Elite Women XC Result: 11th STXC Result: 12th Fontana XC race offered no shortage of punchy, steep climbs, dusty rough descents, and hot temperatures. After a crazy busy week back at school it was time to pack the bike back up, get on a plane, and head to the opening round of the US Cup in Fontana, CA. Descending into the thick smog, a brutal weekend of racing in suburbia awaited us. After a relaxed race morning on Saturday, Kelsey and I headed to the venue. The day was heating up quick and I was anticipating a hard battle on the exposed course. I was called up to the line on the 4th row, on the far right side, right where I wanted to be. The start was fast, but as I rounded the first couple turns smoothly, avoiding crashes at the start, I began to settle into the pace. On the paved fire road climb I pushed hard, working my way past a big group. Into the first single track I settled in behind a group of riders, staying smooth on the punchy climbs as riders in front of me clipped out and ran. Onto the open road again I grabbed Lea’s wheel and followed her up the next climb. I was feeling really strong on the first lap but new that I was pushing it. Going into the second lap I dropped off Lea’s wheel and started working with Gwen for the next lap and a half. Going in to the last lap I was feeling pretty good and made an attack at the beginning of the lap trying to break away from Gwen but she caught back up at the top of the climb. From this point I let her lead on the climbs, making a couple failed attempts to get in front on the descents. I made a final attack on the last fire road climb on the back side, making a small gap and growing it on the descent. Across the final windy tempo section I put my head down with no riders in sight and was able to grow the gap to the finish. I’m really happy to finish 11th in a deep women’s field after a tough battle.
This weekend went incredibly smoothly thanks to everyone who makes Whole Athlete run so successfully. Cammie, John, Josh, Dario, our parents, sponsors. It would not be possible without everything they do. Category: Elite Women Result: 8th I was feeling good going into this weekend and excited to really get this season started with my first Pro UCI race and real XCO race of the season, as Cactus Cup, being a good opener, was a much different style of racing. After a day and a half of plane travel, driving, and a ferry ride, I arrived in Victoria. I got there on Thursday before our Saturday race so I was able to spend a good amount of time on course opening up the legs and getting my lines dialed. Leaving the course that day I felt confident and more than anything just excited to have the opportunity to be there and get to race in a field of such strong and experienced women. Saturday rolled around and I had a smooth morning before my 12:30 pm start. I was 15th call up and lined up behind Kelsey on the second row. The start was on a wide gravel road with a quick right hand turn on loose gravel quickly after the start. The gun went off and I found my pedal smoothly. I found myself drifting into the middle of the pack and as we rounded that first corner there was a bottleneck and a bunch of riders in front of me stalled. I was forced to put a foot down and drag my bike around the corner. Seconds later I found myself fourth from last with the leaders already starting up the first climb. I brushed it aside and put my head down focusing on making as many passes as I could before we entered the singletrack at the top. I also didn't want to expend too many matches on that first climb, so my start made this difficult when I found myself chasing from the back. I passed a handful of riders by the top of the climb, but entered the tight single track behind a group of about five. I rode their wheels, realizing there was little to no passing opportunity in the single track and I knew the front group was pulling away quickly. Exiting the singletrack onto the gravel I was able to make up about five places before the next single track. I could see Kelsey with a group ahead and stayed smooth in the trees. Sometime soon before going through the start/finish area I caught up to Kelsey’s wheel. I started to settle in here and relax a bit heading into the second lap. For the next two laps I rode her smooth wheel on the descents and we traded off with pulls on the open fire road sections. The Specialized Epic was flawless on the rooty course and I couldn’t help but smile racing with my teammate. At the end of the third lap (of four), we were with one other rider. Going into the fourth lap I knew this was it so I put in a big effort on the pavement climb, surprising myself with how good I was feeling there. Kelsey took my wheel and we pulled away from the other rider. By the top of the climb I took the lead in the single track and just focused on staying smooth on the technical terrain and holding nothing back on the climbs. I was happy to have raced a smooth race and finish 8th in a strong field.
This weekend held lots of ‘firsts’ for me, being my first race with the Elites, also the first race of the season, first time racing in the dark (STXC), and first 40+ mile race. The weekend was off to an exciting start with our Short Track race in the dark at 7pm. I felt strong off the line and settled in behind Sofia Gomez Villafane. For the first lap and a half we rode behind Erin and Rose before they broke off. We were all riding conservatively in the dark and it wasn’t worth it to risk making a mistake so I drafted off of Sofia for the next lap before taking the lead on the final lap. It was different being in front and I didn’t have as much light to guide me so I found myself having to be more focused then I have ever been on the trail. I made multiple attacks on the last lap and was able to make the last one stick making a small gap on Sofia. Bright and early the next morning was the 40+ mile cross country race. I didn’t know what to expect going into this one. I had felt really strong the night before and my main goals were to use it as a training race. We started out pretty conservatively and soon the top four broke off from the rest of the field (Erin, Rose, Sofia, and myself). After about 30 minutes Erin took the lead and picked up the pace. I knew it wasn’t sustainable for me but I also didn’t want to ride by myself for the next 2.5 hours, so I hung on for a little longer until Sofia broke off from Erin and Rose. Sofia and I worked together for the rest of the race. The course was fast and flowy with not a lot of climbing so it was helpful to have someone to draft off of. I focused on making myself eat pieces of Bite bars and Bolts every 20-30 minutes and staying in tune with how my body was feeling. With about 3 miles to go I was leading and took a wrong turn. I quickly realized this and turned around, catching up to Sofia a few minutes later. I had figured it would come down to a sprint finish between the two of us, but with about 2 minutes to go I put in an attack around Sofia and was able to grow a small gap to the finish.
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AuthorSavilia Blunk, 20 | XCO MTB racer for Liv Racing Archives
March 2020
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