Coming into the Planet Bike Cup I wasn't sure what to expect. Fresh off of Jackson Park (my first cross race) I was feeling pretty good and got a solid week of training in before making the trek to Madison Friday night. Greg, Paolo and I decided to arrive early on Saturday to pick up our numbers and pre-ride the course. After a restless night and a quick coffee stop we arrived at the Angell Park Speedway. Walking into registration Greg made a comment about his favorite midget auto racer. I thought he was kidding, but no! We were in the National Midget Racing Hall of Fame. The plaques on the wall were a momentary distraction, and I quickly focused back in on the task at hand.

We got pinned up and hit the course. Everything felt magnified compared to Jackson Park: bigger park, bigger course, more people out and about. Rain in the days prior to the race and the cool temperatures made for a wet and muddy morning. The first half of the course consisted of lots of straight-aways into 180 degree turns, barriers and some off camber riding. The second half wrapped around a big hill and playground. Some flowing twists and turns into a sharp turn and up a big, steep hill with three rail road tie stairs at the bottom. Hello, run up! A bit more off camber followed by a stretch of pavement wraps the course around to the finish line.

As the start approached my nerves kicked in a bit; how would I do in the combined 3/4 field? It was time to find out. My start was less than stellar. Our field was combined with the master’s women and I got stuck behind some slow sprinters in the beginning. I went wide around the field and got situated five or six riders from the front of the pack. I hung here for the first half of the race, making sure to keep the leaders in range. I was a little slow through some of the muddy off camber sections in the first half of the course, but was able to make up ground and pass other riders running up the big hill on the second half. By the second to last lap riders in front of me were fading, and I made my move on the hill. I sprinted past the first place rider, hopped on my bike and didn’t look back. Hard sprints on the straight-aways and careful handling on more technical sections helped me extend my lead and take the win. Success!!

The rest of Saturday was a blast, clanging the bone bell, cheering on my fellow riders and watching the pros (who knew they were so fast?!). Saturday night my nerves started settling in again. Paolo’s last words to me before turning in didn’t help, either: “You know you have a big target on your back for tomorrow, right?” Sunday morning was a lot like Saturday, arrive early to pre-ride and see the changes in the course from the previous day. The course was a bit dryer and the new twists and turns made for a faster first half. Coming around the second half of the course I was shocked to see that the organizers had managed to make the big hill even harder-up, across, back down to the very bottom, 180 degree turn and back up the steepest part. Yikes! Warming up I was able to ride this section, but not without a significant effort on the second climb. There was enough mud at the bottom to make the 180 degree turn tricky, and I decided it would be faster to run the second half of this section (thanks to Paolo’s suggestion).

My start for this race was much faster. I made sure I was not behind the slower master’s rider and took the lead coming into the first lap. I was passed by several riders by the time we reached the barriers, but decided to sit tight and wait to make my move. Coming to the big hill section on the first lap my dismount at the bottom is not smooth and I hear a rider behind me yelling to get out of her way because she is going to ride up. “Well, I guess I better move,” I think to myself. I finish my dismount, sprint up the hill and never see the rider again. I was able to catch the leaders earlier than yesterday and open a gap on the hill run up. I hold my lead for 3 laps and finish in 1st again. A repeat victory! The rest of the day is a blast, hanging out with friends and teammates and marveling at the elite racers. My jaw practically dropped every time I saw them chew up and spit out that big hill on their bikes. Maybe someday I’ll be powering up hills like that, too…