Graz UCI Junior Series - Graz, Austria

May 11, 2014

I woke up in dark, rainy Austria for my early start and prepared for the muddy race. My warm up took place on the road in front of the venue where I saw many teams lined up on their trainers. After a solid warm up, I headed to the call-up zone. 130 junior riders lined up along a path. The announcer called everyone's number one by one. I got called to the line around 90th. I knew I had to be aggressive to make up those spots. The gun went off and we immediately sprinted into the mud straightaway. We looped around on a small start loop then surged up the first climb. My heart rate was spiked, but I pushed through the pack passing as many riders as I could. I think I had passed about 30 riders before the first descent. I hoped to recover on the descent, but it was not much of a recovery trying to stay upright on slippery muddy rocks. The course was extremely slippery and dangerous. Going into the first drop and rock garden, I was forced to walk because of injured riders lying at the bottom. The mud was slick and people were crashing left and right. After that I remounted, but couldn't get clipped in fast enough because they were clogged with mud. I rolled into the drop slowly as riders behind me yelled. Still unclipped, I edged over the drop nearly crashing, but some how managing to stay up. A Norwegian rider immediately passed me and angrily yelled at me. I followed him into the next descent riding as fast as I could. I was doing alright until I rode into one off camber root section a little off balance. I completely slid off the trail, but somehow ended up on my feet. I ran back up to my bike and remounted, but my chain was off. I was unable to get it back on because of the mud. I ran the uphills and coasted the downhills to see if it'd clear up after I spun the wheel good. I got to one section with a very steep dangerous section. A German official yelled his advice to me to walk the section. I planned to still ride it, but I changed my mind as I saw two riders in front of me crash and slide to the bottom of the hill. I dismounted as the official clapped and yelled his encouragement in German. I fell many times, but after that there was a steady descent where lots of mud flipped off my bike. At the bottom I was able to get the chain back on after about a minute of working it. I continued to go as hard as I could. I came into the finish in 84th. It was definitely not the result I was looking for. But getting to race with the fastest juniors in the world on one of the most challenging courses I've ever ridden was quite an amazing experience. I am glad I am here as young rider, so I have time to turn my weaknesses into strengths.

Thanks so much Specialized, Whole Athlete, Osmo Nutrition, Pro Bar, DNA Cycling, Oakley, Pro Gold Lubricants and to Pat and Cathy Batten. Looking forward to more racing on this amazing trip in Europe!