I’m happy to say that my race in Magog this weekend was the best yet. It’s safe to assume that I had some pent-up energy from the last two races! Now that the three-in-a-row weeks of races has blown by, I have some time to relax, train hard and get ready for one final race before travelling to Switzerland.
Magog sprint race
The TriMemphre race in Magog was part of the Quebec Cup Prestige series. It was also draft legal, meaning you can work together on the bike to gain an advantage by sticking yourself behind someones wheel or behind a group of people and benefiting from their slipstream. Drafting employs a completely different strategy to my usual races, where you work by yourself to get ahead of everyone. Now the goal is to catch a strong group that you’re comfortable riding with. Did I mention it was very hot out?
Giving chase
I was in a great place coming out of the water, not far off the first pack of cyclists. A few of us, young and old, formed a little group with the aim of spreading – between us – the effort of chasing down the leaders. By the second or third little climb, while at the front of the group, I realized that I had left everyone in my dust. I decided that, since I’m decent at climbing hills and with the first chase group within my sights, I would take the challenge on my own.
With less than 30 seconds left between myself and the group I was chasing, I ran out of gas and didn’t see any possibility of catching up. I fell into a comfortable rhythm to finish off the last lap.
The run
Onto the run, I was afraid I’d no longer have the legs after the tough bike, but I quickly recovered my usual form. Giving chase to the stragglers falling off the lead group, I moved up a couple of spots. My final challenger was ahead, and while not in my age group, he gave a heck of a sprint to the finish!
In a photo-finish, I placed 9th (although you could argue I tied for 8th…our times are identical down to a tenth of a second) with a great 2nd place finish in my age category.
Photos: Emma Halliday
