As I spun the funky euro luggage cart like a magic wand tethered it “I though to myself that’s how to do it”! I was headed back to America after a great weekend; one where I felt like I learned a few things or at least found great confidence that my training is back on track. Like a merry go round with a huge cardboard rectangle on it I would spin and guide the floating sculpture and let it glide for long stretches. I walked down the hallway box spinning on and realized that just like the seemingly silly all four wheel swivel carts, I too had a good handle on this trip to the Olympic test event because I found the right combination of momentum and direction
I didn't have any expectations from the weekend other than get
some good recon in for team USA; power files video and the like. I knew it was a chance to have fun and even throw caution to the wind a bit. Marc Gullickson, Tom Nebb and Bernard were our ace support for a limited team of Georgia Gould and myself.
I was fortunate enough to hook up with Julian Absalon and his teammate for part of a lap and see how he took the technical sections. It was nice chance to compare lines with the best in the sport. He wasn’t afraid to whip the bike thru the high speed marbled turns and ride the spin cycle section with no brakes at all, it was pretty cool kind of like hitting the speed bag with Sugar Ray Leonard next to your as your pacer.
After seeing just one full lap I actually started to notice how it would flow at speed and I noticed I was really getting good on it. The track is fun and challenging hybrid of a world cup and a desert race because of the tons of very tricky gravel. Sure is steeper and more technical than it looks on the internet.
The 1/2 million dollars of elaborate rock work made for an amusement park of advanced features; one i called blood rocks because on of the Brits went down on the section. I was wondering why that red paint was splatter in a trail about 9 feet long? As I was pre riding the steep sketchy drop it dawned on me that that spray of red was blood. I snaked down the rock stairway thinking “just paint that’s just paint” The whitish gravel and sand corridor makes it look like a F 1 bike path but since the surface is wearing in for only one line in half the track and to pass is riding on apples. Fencing and security measure where immense, Sabine Spitz German defending gold medalist couldn’t get in without a pass! Not only that she was finned 1000 swiss francs by the UCI for riding with no number plate!
The announcer called up each rider and listed off the number of World and Olympic accolades. I was wondering what he would say about me as I paraded around the start loop a part of the gladiator pomp that had been worked up for use in the games. Sure there is a trap door with some Lions somewhere around here.
I had a rough start and got bumped off by Magnus but rallied hard! With the stars and stripes on I had to push back up into the top ten if just to see what that pace was about for a lap, all of the sudden my legs opened up like jet turbines on a winter day. I could tell there where thousands of cheering fans but suddenly it became quiet in my mind. I slowly tracked down Olympic medalist and World Champ Christoph Sauser on his ascent up the leader board; something had clicked, I was riding in the zone for the middle 5 laps. I had the amazing perception that these guys seem like they are moving in slow motion. An amazing feeling to flow thru the turns at full tilt spraying rocks and sweat in my wake. To jump on the pedals out of every corner without any pain is magical. In fact had a small gap out of the switchbacks and put in a couple good attacked to see what i could do, I had them worried! Last lap cramps removed me from medal contention but I had a hell of a race and had the 2nd fastest laps of the race on 3,4 and 5. A great indicator that the training is on target!
Wow! A fantastic race for team USA and Cannondale our camp was thrilled with Georgias 2nd and my 4th.
It was a very tough course and will be a worthy test for next years games. No question I could ride well in London, making the team is the tricky part.
As the trolley spun thru to the check in the pre dawn sky swirled like a butter tomato soup and I thought what will my legs have in store for Leadville?
1 Julian Absalon (France) 1:31:48
2 Christoph Sauser (Swiss) 0:01:20
3 Karl Markt (Austria) 0:01:46
4 Jeremiah Bishop (United States of America) 0:02:19
5 Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic) 0:02:33
6 Kohei Yamamoto (Japan) 0:03:27
7 Maxime Marotte (France) 0:04:38
8 Magnus Darvell (Sweden) 0:04:58
9 Uwe Hochenwarter (Austria) 0:05:14
10 Rubens Valeriano (Brazil) 0:05:46
