Coupe de la Paix - Montreal-Nord

Raced in the third race of the Coupe de la Paix criterium series. Super fun time.

I wasn't sure what to expect of the race. A small field of elite women lined up to race the four-corner crit. Typical racing - lot of attacks but nothing that managed to stick or turn into a break away. There was some sketchy stuff in the corners but due to the small pack size there was lots of room for everyone.

At one point, I decided to attack. I didn't really plan it out. It just happened. I attacked just before the second corner and managed to get a gap. Hmm, this has never happened before. So I just pedaled and pedaled. I expected to get chased down right away. Nope - it took six laps. Yes, six laps. To be honest I really wasn't sure what to do. How hard to ride, etc. Luckily Marc was giving me a few tips through the start/finish. I was really hoping a couple of people would have bridged up and then we could have stayed away.

When I was caught, I braced myself for the counter-attack. Nope - nothing happened. In hindsight, I should have countered. A couple of times we had a little group of four or five off the front but for some reason we didn't put the hammer down to get a decent gap.

We ended in a bunch sprint - I was sixth. I'm okay with this. I would have liked to have been on the podium but there are still lots of things I need to work on. Particularly positioning coming out of the last corner. Admittedly I was a bit too far back.

All in all, a great time on the bike. After my race I quickly got changed and settled in to watch Marc and his RWR team mates race in the elite men's race. This was a big and fast field. 97 riders with some big names in the pack. There were a lot of crashes - due I suppose to the size of the field and the pace. Marc did really well but unfortunately got caught behind a crash with a couple laps to go. All of the RWR racers rode really well.

After a bite, we hit the road for the drive back to Ottawa. Got in at a decent time and had the evening to relax. Marc is off to Montreal again today for the last race in the series. Wish I could be racing as well but, other things are higher on the list today.

On Thursday we head to Beauce. Should be good.

Comments

[Sheri Jay]

Sounds like you had a great race. Good luck at Nationals. We'll be there too but at a different time than you. We'll have to hook up at the Gatineau RR.

[Vicki]

Thanks. It was a good day on the bike. I might be doing road nationals now... Need to decide today/tomorrow. Definitely I'll see you at the Gatineau RR.