Date: June 18, 2016 Category: UCI Junior Women Result: 2nd After finishing up school and a solid block of training, I was more excited than ever to fly up to Missoula and reunite with my team. The air was humid when we landed from recent rain and ominous thunderheads hung in the sky. The next day the clouds were gone and the sun shone as we headed to the venue to pre ride. I was so excited to be back at my favorite venue for my absolute favorite race! The energy at Missoula is always super fun and positive, and although it’s a big race the environment has always been pretty stress free in the two years that I’ve raced. It felt good to get rolling after a long day of travel and I was feeling good even though we were up 3800 ft. The course consists of one main long climb at the start followed by a short decent, another steep climb, and then the final downhill. I was so excited to finally be back riding under the Montana sun. :) Race day arrived in the blink of an eye. After a short spin in the morning I put my legs up to recover for our 2:30 PM start. Although rain was in the forecast for the afternoon, the temps remained in the high 80s and the sun showed no sign of leaving. The clocked ticked away and soon we were arriving at the venue just as a steady rain began to fall. After a wet warm up, I joined the rest of my category on the line, nervously anticipating our start. I was excited to see some fast and international competition in the mix of the UCI Junior Women. The sun had come out again and I found my self calm as I rolled up to the front row. The gun blew and everything moved in slow motion as I slipped into my pedal and the race began. My legs burned as the front group settled into the first climb. I worked my way past a few riders and settled in behind the third wheel. I was feeling good at the top of climb and made a pass into third place. I focused on sticking to the wheel in front of me and before I knew it we’d made a gap on the rest of the field. On the second lap I found myself feeling strong and riding behind the second wheel with the rest of the field nowhere in sight. I could tell the girl in front of me was struggling and I wanted to make a pass but made the decision to wait and pass her on the A line, as she took the B line, to not waste my energy. Once we hit the top of the climb and began the descent I was feeling smooth as I passed second place on the drop. Coming around for my final lap I put my head down and gave it all I had. I wasn’t able to catch the first place girl but was beyond excited to come across the line as the top American finisher in second.
Cannot thank my coach Dario Fredrick, my team, Julia Violich, sponsors, my family, and friends enough for all the support in making this all happen. Next up, Angle Fire ProXCT!
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AuthorSavilia Blunk, 20 | XCO MTB racer for Liv Racing Archives
March 2020
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