EUROPE ADVENTURES with Team Canada!!!!
Well the past 2 weeks have certainly gone by faster than I had ever expected! Traveling through Europe with Team canada has been life changing. I am so grateful for all the support I've received to help me get to experience all that I have (thanks especially to my awesome parents for their huge support)!
The first week of this European trip was in Haiming Austria, a beautiful area in the Austrian Alps.
Our week consisted of pre-riding our race course, race strategy, technique, and finally exploring life in Austria!
The Olympia hotel was only a 15 minute bike ride from the race venue so sometimes we veered off our normal trails and explored the beautiful and diverse trails in the mountains.
The opportunity to train in the alps has definitely helped me crank up my technical skills, especially under the guidance of Coach Ian Hughes.
The Austrian race course was a challenging one, lots of really steep, technical, punchy climbs usually followed by steep technical descents. The final descent was a particularly challenging obstacle for us... Soren, Laurie and I thought it was part of a downhill course at first!!
The actual race was the craziest thing I've ever done😂 the pace was.... wicked fast and girls were more aggressive than I'm used to. But fortunately I was able to adapt, I found recovery in technical sections where others worked, and that gave me more of a chance on the climbs! The biggest difference between this race and Ontario Cup races is that I was pushed to my limits the entire race... this wasn't familiar racers I was used to racing... Every single one of these girls raced like they wanted to win, they were aggressive, confident, and determined. It was eye opening for me and quite inspiring. I finished my race completely shocked and giddy at what had just happened. My first World Cup, in the books.
This course had a fairly straightforward layout... 15 minutes up, 3 minutes down. The climb was quite challenging, having 4 "tiers", each having a different steepness and challenge from loose gravel to steep switch back slopes. The downhill was my favourite part. It was long, flowy, and crazy fast. We took our time picking apart the perfect lines for technical sections. Team Canada had this downhill dialed👌🏼.
The race was insanely fun, it was again fast, but as a treat for our last race on the trip, it pouuuuurrrred and made the course a mud bath.
I learned from this race that when you're at a World Cup there isn't opportunity to conserve yourself, you gotta put it all out there to be successful.
Team Canada and USA
Behind all the mud there's Soren and I!
AND.... I got to watch Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter Race!!! AGHH!
The first week of this European trip was in Haiming Austria, a beautiful area in the Austrian Alps.
Our week consisted of pre-riding our race course, race strategy, technique, and finally exploring life in Austria!
The Olympia hotel was only a 15 minute bike ride from the race venue so sometimes we veered off our normal trails and explored the beautiful and diverse trails in the mountains.
The opportunity to train in the alps has definitely helped me crank up my technical skills, especially under the guidance of Coach Ian Hughes.
The Austrian race course was a challenging one, lots of really steep, technical, punchy climbs usually followed by steep technical descents. The final descent was a particularly challenging obstacle for us... Soren, Laurie and I thought it was part of a downhill course at first!!
The actual race was the craziest thing I've ever done😂 the pace was.... wicked fast and girls were more aggressive than I'm used to. But fortunately I was able to adapt, I found recovery in technical sections where others worked, and that gave me more of a chance on the climbs! The biggest difference between this race and Ontario Cup races is that I was pushed to my limits the entire race... this wasn't familiar racers I was used to racing... Every single one of these girls raced like they wanted to win, they were aggressive, confident, and determined. It was eye opening for me and quite inspiring. I finished my race completely shocked and giddy at what had just happened. My first World Cup, in the books.
We left Tuesday for Germany where we would spend the rest of our trip!
Heubach Germany was a cute town in a mountainous part of the country.
Heubach Germany was a cute town in a mountainous part of the country.
This course had a fairly straightforward layout... 15 minutes up, 3 minutes down. The climb was quite challenging, having 4 "tiers", each having a different steepness and challenge from loose gravel to steep switch back slopes. The downhill was my favourite part. It was long, flowy, and crazy fast. We took our time picking apart the perfect lines for technical sections. Team Canada had this downhill dialed👌🏼.
The race was insanely fun, it was again fast, but as a treat for our last race on the trip, it pouuuuurrrred and made the course a mud bath.
I learned from this race that when you're at a World Cup there isn't opportunity to conserve yourself, you gotta put it all out there to be successful.
I was very happy with my descending and mental focus throughout the race, and overall I was impressed by how strong I felt! And the best part of racing in the mud.... Post race pictures..
Me looking destroyed after the race^
AND.... I got to watch Julien Absalon and Nino Schurter Race!!! AGHH!
So to sum it up, that was one of the best 2 weeks of my life, I've learned so much from my experiences, I've met new friends, and I'm ready to train my butt off to make it back to Europe for Worlds!
Thank you again to all of the people who made this trip possible, my parents, and my friends who cheered me along the whole trip! Thanks to my coach Rob Holmgren for helping me get to where I am as an athlete, as well as the Centurion Next Wave team for making me a stronger rider! And thank you to Bikeland and Specialized Canada for setting me up with my partner in crime.... My Era❤️
See you again Europe!!!
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