Final part of the season!

Final Part of the Season!

            I have officially entered the last part of the season, so I thought it was a good time for an update!

The next few weeks are going to be busy. First up is Gravel Desert, which is a part of the Earth Gravel Series. After that, I’ll head to the UCI Sea Otter and finally, the Earth Gravel Final, Ranxo Gravel. These next few races mean a lot to me for several reasons, but most importantly, to prove to myself that I can get to the podium.

Photo: Micheal Chan

I have had a solid but also a frustrating year so far. I have been proud of the results I have achieved, but August brought some tough moments. I had a few disappointing races due to mechanical issues. It was hard to accept missing opportunities due to issues that were out of my control, especially when my mind and legs felt good. I have tried to take these setbacks and use it as both motivation and to “over prepare” my bike so that I can avoid any further mechanical issues. I have had two solid weeks at home training and preparing both physically and mentally. I have big goals for the rest of the season. I am hopeful I can accomplish them and that my hard work, sacrifices and dedication will pay off.

Riding Gravel in Andorra on my Basso Palta :)

Getting my nutrition ready!

Photo: Chiara Redaschi

For the rest of this blog, I am going to go over the race coming up this weekend, Gravel Desert, and share my goals for this race.

            This Saturday I will be racing Gravel Desert; the race starts and finishes in Granen Spain in the Province of Huesca. The race is 169km with 1,615m of elevation that goes through the Monegro’s Desert. The profile of the race is undulating with most of the climbing in the first 60kms of the race. The climbs are not super long or steep, however, with many small climbs throughout the 169km day will make it a selective race. With the most important part of the race in the first 60km, it will be important to have a good warm up, nutrition plan and be ready for the first climb of the day starting at 20km with the steepest gradient at 20%. To me, this is the most important part of the race and where I can make or follow a strong move. My goal for this race is clear, I want to podium or even better, win! I know I have the legs, and I just need a bit of luck on my side and for everything to come together. My bike and nutrition plan is dialed in, and I feel confident in myself that I can get a strong result. I am going into this race Saturday, confident with a clear mind and ready to push myself to do my best. After the race on Saturday, it will be back to recovering, eating, sleeping, training and recovering again to get ready for Sea Otter, then repeat to get ready for Ranxo. I will be posting updates on my results as well as my plans for the rest of my season on my blog as well as Instagram! Be sure to follow and thank you for reading!