Vermont and the Ontario Summer Games in Windsor
The past couple weeks have been action packed like none other. Two weeks ago I was lucky to have travelled to Vermont thanks to my dad and the Real Deal Racing team! It was a 10 hour drive Saturday morning, preride at 5:00, sleep, warm up, race, then another 10 hour drive home to make it back to work on time the next day!
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The race itself was one of, if not the hardest race I've ever done, consisting of twisty grass double tracks, long switch back climbing, and wicked jumps and gaps. It was a challenging race as I had some trouble off the line and found myself sliding out on most of the corners. I battled the entire race with Sophianne Samson ( fellow Canadian from the Subway Quebec team) and Kelsey Urban ( from the Specialized Whole Athlete Team). In the end I finished 2nd place behind the US National Champ Haley Batten, also from the Specialized Whole Athlete team.
Vermont has definitely been one of the highlights of the summer, it was my first UCI Level mountain bike race outside of Canada, I met lots of new people and friends, and as usual... I had a blast racing my bike!
Later on that day, the mountain biking and road crew left the hotel we were staying in to participate in the Opening Ceremonies! I found this one of the coolest parts of the OSG experience because walking into the packed stadium, you feel like an Olympic Athlete...
Pictures of the road race!
The race itself was one of, if not the hardest race I've ever done, consisting of twisty grass double tracks, long switch back climbing, and wicked jumps and gaps. It was a challenging race as I had some trouble off the line and found myself sliding out on most of the corners. I battled the entire race with Sophianne Samson ( fellow Canadian from the Subway Quebec team) and Kelsey Urban ( from the Specialized Whole Athlete Team). In the end I finished 2nd place behind the US National Champ Haley Batten, also from the Specialized Whole Athlete team.
Vermont has definitely been one of the highlights of the summer, it was my first UCI Level mountain bike race outside of Canada, I met lots of new people and friends, and as usual... I had a blast racing my bike!
Last Wednesday we left for Windsor to get ready for the Ontario Summer Games. We arrived in time for dinner and rested in the hotel room Wednesday evening making sure we had a good sleep. Thursday, began with the Mountain Bike Time Trial. This was really fun and different from my normal 45 minute race since it was a 5 km sprint!
Later on that day, the mountain biking and road crew left the hotel we were staying in to participate in the Opening Ceremonies! I found this one of the coolest parts of the OSG experience because walking into the packed stadium, you feel like an Olympic Athlete...
Day two, Friday, was the XC race!
Later on Friday was the team relay!!
Next Wave (my team) came 2nd overall!!
The road cycling part of Ontario Summer Games took place Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, the time trial and sprint challenge were held while on Sunday we competed in the longer road race.
Starting the time trial...
Soren, Paige, and I racing each other during the sprint challenge!!
Overall I've had a fantastic couple weeks of racing, Vermont and OSG's have each been an amazing experience and a great chance for me to improve on my racing skills. I'm sad that they're over but there's still lots of racing coming up... O-Cup #6 at Mountainview (Midland), this weekend, the Epic 8 Hour at Hardwood on the 23rd, and provincials coming up late in September at Horseshoe!
Thank you to my sponsors Bikeland and Specialized for being phenomenal supporters these past couple of weeks, my parents, my coach Rob Holmgren, Real Deal Racing for letting me be part of the team in Vermont, and to all of my friends at the Summer Games who made it one of the best weekends of the summer!!
Finally, good luck to Soren Meeuwisse and Paige Foxcroft who are heading to the WORLD CUP in Norway this September!! Check out their blogs to find out how you can support them on their adventure!!
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