Portland Race Report: USGP #5

Friday evening I flew into Portland, home of the most intense cyclocross scene this side of the Atlantic, looking forward to some crazy spectators, racing with friends, and a whole lot of mud.

In an act of pure insanity... , I decided to race in the Elites at the Portland Cup. At the UCI races in Boulder, I had opted to race in the Category 3s, and was disappointed that the field was only 8 women! Most of the other Cat 3s had chosen to race in the Elites. So for Portland I figured I would ride with the big girls, and have more competition. Except, as I watched the women's non-elite race go off with about 45 riders, that I realized I had chosen poorly. Turns out that no one in Portland had wanted to buy a UCI license, and so had raced the lower category. Crap. That meant that the only folks I'd be racing with were the real deal: national level pros. I turned up at the start line feeling decidedly out of place but telling myself that I would just have to ride my own race, and give everything to hang on. Luckily Georgia, Kelli, and some of the other big dogs had great words of support for me.

The gun went off, and we sprinted down the straightaway. At the first corner, I already found myself working hard to stay near the back of the pack. I hung on for the first lap, and then dangled farther and farther back with a few other girls as the race continued. Yet even as I slipped into last place, the crowd in Portland was screaming away for me; What a sensation! Racing in better-than-thou Colorado Springs made me forget how incredible supporters can be-- yelling for the sorry girl in last place as though I were leading the race. Yet even though I was in last, I was having a great time! The course rocked-a huge mudpit (yeah, there's lots of mud in Portland, even when it's 50 degrees and sunny), part of a moto track, and lots of sweet, semi-muddy, off-camber corners. I was lapped (with encouraging words from the lead girls, thanks ladies!), and pulled with one lap to go. I was bummed to earn last place, but not too down on myself; I was grateful for having another reminder of just how much I have to keep pushing myself at every moment.

Velonews did a great write-up of the race here. My host, and totally awesome lady Sue Butler, sprinted for fourth place, with Katerina Nash, Georgia Gould, and Rachel Miller taking the top three.

After the race I headed to all you can eat sushi (most incredible recovery food ever) and had a great time hearing about my friends' races. Then I did some soul searching and got ready for my comeback on day 2 of the Portland Cup.