Joe Martin Stage Race

I just got home from my very first pro stage race. It was possibley the most difficult thing I have ever experienced, physically speaking anyway! I was so nervous on Friday especially when I got to the venue and saw all the pro women and pro teams there. These are the women I read about in magazines and on cyclingnews.com and here I am attempting to race against them. I was at little intimidated, to say the least. It started out pretty fact and the descents were reaching 50 mph. The climbs were't too bad and for the first 30 miles or so I was feeling pretty decent. And then the mountain came. I got popped pretty quick once we started up Mt. Gaylor and managed to pass a few people and then once I got to the top I was cooked. And to my dismay, I still had another 30 miles to go! I had a couple other girls with me to keep me company but it was pretty darn miserable and I could not wait to finish that stage. Saturday morning came much too soon and my legs were not feeling well at all. The first small hill on the way out about cracked me. Then we rolled along for 15 miles fairly easy. And then again, I got popped on the long uphill. I managed to chase and catch back on the the pack for a little while, just in time for it to kick up again and I got dropped for good that time and did the second lap with a group of 4 other girls. Again, it was pretty painful and I was so happy to see the 10k to go banner. The evening uphill time trial was not near as bad as what I thought it would be. I kept my watts much higher than I anticipated and I felt 100% better afterward. Sunday's crit was at 11:30 so I was able to sleep in a little. My legs felt pretty good in my warm-up and I was excited to race my first crit of the season. It started out fast and I could not get clipped in at first. I struggled with that and finally took off. Gaps opened up immediately and I was chasing for two laps just trying to stay attached. The pack got away with small break off the front and many smaller group still chasing and four of us worked together for the next 40 minutes before we got pulled. The big hill killed my legs every lap but I felt good in the corners and I was able to take them pretty fast. There were a few crashes in the crit so I was happy that I avoided all of those. I ended up 64th out of about 82 women. So, at least I didn't get last and I managed to finish the race. I am happy that it is over with and I know it has made me stronger, both mentally and physically. But, I have a VERY VERY long way to go before I can be competitive with those girls. I am looking forward to some flat races in the future though! And I got my picture on cyclingnew.com for the first time. Granted I was off the back so I was an easy target but it looks good anyway! here's the link: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=photos/2006/may06/joemartin06/joemartin061/wprev1