Time to start racing!!

I have now been in America for just under a month and am loving every minute of it. After leaving California, Emma (team mate), Rachel (Manager) and I flew across to Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is where I will be based for the next 7 months and I could not have come to a better place.

Down the road from where I am living, going to be awesome in summer!

At first I was a little worried when Emma described the town as “full of hippies,” although this is very true it is also full of mountains and amazing super markets. We are living in a cute little house about 2km’s outside of the main Asheville town and about 10 minutes (riding) away from
endless climbing. The first day we got here Rachel took us on an ‘easy’ ride, when returning home I had a look at my computer.. 1000 metres of climbing in an hour and a half!! A little different to Dallas last year, where all the locals couldn’t stop talking about their ‘massive’ hill (this consisted of a 3-4% climb lasting around 300 metres), I would go for 5 hours on what was considered
a ‘hilly loop’ and would return having done about 400 metres of climbing.. This is going to be a good year!

Last week I went on a ride with Rachel so she could show me a good loop to go riding on. A week later and I am still buzzing about how awesome it was! Once we had got out of the town part we hit a 30-40 minute windy and steep climb, once reaching the top (and taking some photos of the
view) we got to a road called Blue Ridge Parkway. This road carries on for 500 miles between Virginia and North Carolina and is wide, smooth, and super hilly (ranging in elevation from 600 to 6000 feet). It is often closed off to motor vehicles it certain parts, which it was on this ride, so Rachel and I got the entire road to cruise on, for about 90kms. It also contains a few tunnels which are good to mix it up a bit, except for the part where you cannot see anything for a split second.. adds some excitement to the ride. During the descent we came across some icicles hanging on the side of the road (so had to stop for some photos.. obviously). Once I arrived home I took a look at the computer, this time I had done 2,200 metres, personal best!! Did I mention I love this place? Here’s a link to the Blue Ridge Parkway website, if you ever want to travel to America to do some riding.. come here! http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

The view from Blue Ridge Parkway, the road follows around all of the mountains.... heaven.

When you look left you get the views over Asheville, when you look right you get icicles.

I have also been doing a lot of indoor training on my sweet new Kinetic trainer.. Usually when I am given efforts to do at home on the wind trainer I get a little depressed and leave training to the last minute, but this new trainer is awesome. It literally feels as though you are riding on a smooth road with no jolting at all, it also came with a super large trainer mat, which we use for gym stuff.. Its about the size of two people. I love the feeling of doing sprints on the trainer and knowing that I am not going to be taking off into the wall on the other side of the room (my one back at home, theres about a 50/50 chance of this happening).

Getting in some trainer efforts on the Kurt Kinetic trainer; http://www.kurtkinetic.com/

One of the many hills I get to ride on every day, if you look closely you can see it zig-zagging down.

I have had the house to myself for the past couple of days while Emma and Rachel headed back to California for the Merco Cycling Classic. This is the first race of the season and we have started off awesomely! The line up for this race is super strong and our girls managed to come away with 4 in the top 10 for the time trial and a 2nd and 3rd in the criterium just yesterday (the winner, Ina Teutenberg is one of the world’s best, and Joelle was less than a wheel away from getting her)! The final stage is today and then they are back in Asheville tomorrow. Then on Friday, the three of us head to Florida to race the Delray beach criterium which is part of the NRC series (National Race Calendar), then we fly back to Asheville, have two days here and then back to California for San Dimas stage race, then to Redlands for another stage race, then Disney Land for my Birthday!! Can’t wait.

Emma and my home made gym..

And just as I finish writting this blog it starts snowing outside! This weather is so unpredictable. One day its 20 degrees the next its negative 5.. Love it!

Will keep everyone updated on how it’s all going.
Thanks for reading,
Courteney

Training camp, Ventura, California.

When I eventually arrived at LA airport I met up with my new team and then Rachel (team manager) picked us all up and we travelled to Ventura, about an hour outside of LA. The next 10 days were spent training, eating, sleeping, getting regular massages and getting to know our team mates. It was amazing. We were handed on head to toe. Adrian, the team mechanic spent hours
and hours getting all the bikes fitted, running perfectly, cleaned and set to ride (there are 12 of us, we have two bikes each that mean 24 bikes, he is amazing.. not to mention the time trial bikes that will be arriving soon). Jeremy, the soigneur, gave us massage, filled and cleaned all of our bottles and provided us with delicious Cliff bars every morning before we rode. Last but definitely not least, Rachel Heal the team manager. Rachel makes everything happen, run smoothly and teaches us everything whether it be on or off the bike. So basically the only thing we had to be concerned about was having a good time, getting to know each other and riding fast.. I could get very used to this.

At the end of the 10 days we had a sponsor evening at the guys house (There are 18 males and 12 females in the Optum Health p/b KBS team). A marquee was set up on the beach with tiki torches around the sides and tables in the middle, with some pretty delicious catering. Was an awesome
evening getting to know the men’s team and all of the sponsers. It was finished off by the guys having a ‘plank off’ where they try to do a plank for 15 minutes, and if they made it then 200 dollars would be put towards World Bicycle Relief. Unfortunately the longest was about 9 minutes.. So Emma and I have made a goal of reaching 15 minutes by the end of the season. We are up to 6 so almost half way.. sort of.

Below are some photos of the camp, thanks to photographer Casey B. Gibson and Emma Grant;

It is going to be one awesome year and I cannot wait to be part of Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies. Thanks to all of the sponsers who make this possible;

- World Bicycle Relief http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/.

- Solve http://www.solve-ideas.com/

- Schick http://www.schick.com/

- Orbea http://www.orbea.com/

- OptumHealth Performance http://www.optumhealthperformance.com/index.php

- Medifast http://www.medifast1.com/index.jsp

- Mavic http://www.mavic.com/en

- Look http://www.lookcycle.com

- Large Format Graphics. inc http://www.largeformatgraphics.biz/

- Kuhl https://www.kuhl.com/

- Kurt Kinetic http://www.kurtkinetic.com/

- HED http://www.hedcycling.com/

- Colavita http://www.colavita.com/index.htm

- Circuit Global Sports Management http://www.circuitsport.com

- Challenge http://www.challengetech.it/home.php

- Bicycling http://www.bicycling.com/

- Arundel http://www.arundelbike.com/index.html

- Acura http://www.acura.com/

- SRAM http://www.sram.com/

- Champion System http://www.champ-sys.com/

- Lazer http://www.lazersport.com/

- Cliff Bar http://www.clifbar.com/

- Street Factory Media http://www.streetfactorymedia.com/

- Thule http://www.thule.com/en-us/US

- Park Tool http://www.parktool.com/

- Selle Italia http://www.selleitalia.com/

- Xterra Footwear http://xterrafootwear.com/

- Motorex http://www.motorexusa.com/

- Kelly Benefit Strategies http://www.kellybenefitstrategies.com/

- Compex http://www.compex.info

- Optum Health www.optumhealth.com

If anybody is interested here is the link to the team website; http://www.optumprocycling.com/

Watch this space..

Courteney =)

America 2012, Team Optum Pro Cycling P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies

This morning I woke up to a quaking duck at 3.30am (that's my alarm). Then by 4am dad, mum and I set off for Auckland airport. First stop was Sydney, a nice smooth trip where i watched a movie called TOAST, and slept for the rest. I am now sitting in Sydney. In 3 hours I leave for a 14 hour flight to LA where I will stay for 2 weeks for training camp with my new team Optum pro cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies (bit of a mouthful). I have never felt so many emotions before, I am so excited for the 7 months ahead, as well as super nervous. But I am also going to miss home and the people there a lot. I have never been away from home for this long so it's going to be interesting.

The aim is to keep this updated on a regular basis.. Lets see how that goes.

Courteney =)

Elite Nationals 2012

After Vineyards I flew to Christchurch with Emily and Kate to get ready for the 2012 elite nationals. This is my third year of competing in this race and I absolutely love it. The course is awesome with a 1.5 (ish) km climb up Dyers Pas on every lap (7 laps) and the rest on pretty flat roads that are fairly open to the wind. Unfortunately the start list was missing a few big names including Linda Villlumson and quite a few of the track riders, but it still had some pretty good talent including (dear I say it) some bloody good triathletes and also a handful of other International riders.

The race started off relatively slowly with most of the field in no particular rush. Sequoia Cooper and Lauren Ellis got in a break together early on and started gaining some good time on the main field. Coming up to the 4th lap Kate Mcilroy and I decided it would be a good idea to put some pressure on on the hill and try to get a little break going. Kate started the hill off at a good tempo, dropping quite a few of the riders, then half way up the hill I went to the front and had a go, forming a group of 4. We managed to catch Sequoia and Lauren and then dropped them on the hill. Coming into the last lap we had about 2 minutes on a chasing group of about 5. Reta Trotman unfortunately came off coming around the round-about and was unable to rejoin our group. So it was three of us battling it out on the climb. Nicky Samuels was too strong on the last 200 metres of the hill and rode away while Kate and I tried to keep her in sight. The last lap was quite a lot of pain, we worked hard together but were unable to pull her back in. I ended up finishing in 2nd place, which with all that has been going on in the last few months I was pretty happy about. Also, Reta Trotman had an amazing race after falling off. She got caught by the chasing 5 and then broke away from the on the hill finishing in 4th place.. a new rider who is super strong and one to watch for the future!

Need a little more practive opening champagne bottles I think.. a little bit slow.

Still trying...

On the subject of this year, I am now allowed to announce that I am in a professional womens cycling team called Kelly Benefit Strategies – Optum Health Pro Cycling. We will be managed by Rachel Heal who also managed the Colavita team last year (this team is basically Colavita except we have new sponsorship names and have joined up with the already existing men’s KBS team).
Because it is a top team I will be the worker for the year, trying to help out the top riders in the team as much as I can. This is an amazing opportunity and I really cannot wait. I would just like to thank some people who have made this possible for me, Including; Andy Reid, Richard Bates, Craigs Investment Partners, Koops Cycles, Tauranga Cycling Club, and most importantly, Mum and Dad!

I am off on February the 7th (just over a week eek) where I will be flying into LA for a 2 week training camp and then heading to Asheville, North Carolina where I will be based for the 7 months.

Will keep everyone updated!
Courteney =)

Tour De Vineyards

Each year on Boxing day I head to Nelson with the gang (Emily Collins, Kate Chilcott, James Williamson and James Canny) and compete in some pre-nationals racing (and to work off the Christmas fiests). This year it was the Tour De Vineyards which is a 5 day tour consisting of a prologue, lap race, 2 road races and then a gruelling crit-trype race. This tour is a bit of fun
where we compete in it pretty relaxed with the plan of getting a good leg stretch out before the big race on 7th of Jan. I went into the racing not knowing what was going to happen to my leg. It was still very on and off but I am now 80% sure I know what the issue is and with a lot of exercising it is definitely on the mend.

The racing started off with a prologue, half the field went all out on tt bikes, whereas the other half either rolled some clip on bars or just went on the drops. I decided the day before that I should probably pack some clip-on’s, even if I have not used them for quite awhile (it seemed like a good idea at the time). The tt felt very hard and I felt ridiculously restricted leaning over on the bars (turns out putting the seat up and forward is a good idea when putting on aero bars). I gave it everything and ended up finishing 8th, 37 seconds down from Gabrielle Vermunt (1st
place). I was pretty disappointed with the result but I will learn from my mistakes.

The second race consisted of a 46 km lap race. It was a pretty negative race with not many people wanting to do anything. Reta Trotman had a great ride where she got away and managed to stay away until the end with the rest of the bunch 5 seconds behind.

The 3rd stage was the big one. 130 kms of racing finishing up the horrible Takaka hill (which is about 18km of pretty steep climbing..ouch). The racing started slow with everyone trying to save
themselves, it also rained pretty much the entire way which was really great. With about 30km until the base of the climb a group of 6 of us rode off the front with some good riders including Serena Sheridan and Theresa Adam. We got a pretty good gap going into the hill, and I was feeling good. As soon as we started the climb Theresa, Serena and myself dropped the rest of the break with Theresa powering off in front. Then about 2km into it my left leg started playing
up, particularly in the calf area, then next minute it was seizing, getting tighter every pedal stroke. I took the pressure off for awhile as I knew we had a good gap and the only way I was going to finish the race was if I took it easy for a bit and maybe go harder once (if) it stopped hurting. After a few more km’s it began feeling better so I got into a comfortable rhythm and just
rode at my own pace for the rest, finishing 3rd with Theresa and Serena 1st and 2nd. At the top I was border-line hypothermic as I was drenched and freezing. Thankfully the Williamsons were there to warm me up and throw me in the van with the heat blasting. Then Greg Taylor from wheel works gave Emily, Kate and I a ride home from the race.. not too sure what we would have done without Greg and his partner.. We would probly be riding back home from the race, which is about 40km.. in the rain. Very thankful for the wheelworks crew!!

The next day we woke up to some torrential rain and a bit of wind.. So were all pretty excited for a 120km race. The rain did not ease what-so-ever throughout the race, and I couldn’t
really see a thing the entire way. Legs felt a little tired thanks to the lack of warm down the day before, but everybody was in the same boat as it was almost impossible to warm down after that stage. The race had many attacks and also a lot of soft spots. A few of us pushed it hard over the biggest climb of the stage, getting a good gap but because the climb was a wee bit too short and the downhill straight after we got caught pretty fast. It ended up with a bunch sprint with Kate winning and me safely in the bunch.

The final day was a hilly criterium. It started off hard and continued the entire way through with attack after attack. I went about 200metres too early for the sprint (as it finished on a downhill, so I went for it on the uphill before hand and tried to hold on but blew too early). However it
ended up working well because Emily was on my wheel so I gave her a great un-planned lead out and she took the win!

Riding in the sunshine capital of NZ; Nelson... YEA RIGHT.

Overall I finished 3rd and 2nd in QOM. Was a good few days to re-introduce my legs to some racing (I think they may have forgot how to go hard). Now its Nationals coming up and I cannot wait! Working hard on the leg and it is feeling better already so fingers crossed it stays good.

Talk soon,
Courteney =)

(Photos thanks to Richard Spooner, rickoshayphotos-Sporting-Images)

Update!!

So I have been back in NZ for a good 5 months now.. And a lot has been happening!!
I finished uni for the year, so now supposed to be on 'holiday' but it feels like everything but.. Last month I raced in the k1 elite women race, which started in Whitianga and finished in Thames. The race started off pretty fast and we made a nice little break of about 6 over the first climb. When we got to the 'big' Whangapoa hill Theresa Adam and I road off the front and got a good gap on the rest of the break. With 200 meters to go my left leg completely blew and I almost was at a stand still.. I have been having a few issues with it lately but have been trying to ignore it, thinking the typical; It’ll be right, its just a little niggle. This time I woke up a bit and realised I really need to see what’s going on. Anyway, I managed to get over the hill, down the other side and then felt completely fine. Emma Crum caught me and we team time-trialled it until the next climb. I then broke away and road the rest of the race (about 50km) by myself, trying to chase down Theresa. Unfortunately she had gained too much time and was powering on ahead. I finished the race in 2nd, with Theresa showing she had some amazing form in 1st, and Emma 3rd.
The start line


The rest of the field had got caught by the guys bunch from the fun ride so they had to leave it to the sprint finish (which was a bit unfortunate for riders like Mel Burke who had ridden most of the race by herself and got caught close to the finish by the guys bunch, who had also dragged the other girls with them). Overall, it was not the most successful day on the bike but that's ok, time to get some problems fixed.

Thank gosh that is over!

I have recently been on a bit of a break, trying to get over this left leg issue. After seeing a few physios, doctors and chiropractors I think I may finally be getting to the bottom of it.. Now I just need to rest and recover (it's driving me crazy) I have never wanted to go and do hill efforts so much in my life!! Plans are under-way for next year and will update you on what's happening soon, it's going to be a big year! Before now and then, if all is going well, Ill give Tour De Vineyards and elite nationals a shot in January. Will keep you updated!

Its time to get my A into G and keep this site updated. Thanks for reading =)
Courteney

Blog time!!

Wow, it's been awhile. I do apologize about my terribly slack updates lately.
As most of you probably know I am back from America (and have been since the start of July). If we rewind 4 or so months, I was in Wisconsin, competing in an 11 stage race (9x criteriums, 1x road race and 1x time trial). This was a lot of racing! I gained a lot of good crit experience as well as having some fun and meeting new people. So was a great way to end the trip.

Three days before I was due to fly home Kate, Megan and I went to the theme park 'six flags' and were planning on heading to hurricane harbour afterwards (a water park). It started off pretty well, other then the ridiculously hot temperature (40 degrees plus). Then lining up for the last ride I started feeling a little sick, next minute I was on the ground. After about 15 minutes of sitting down trying not to be sick I got taken to the little theme park doctor area where all the other 'theme park victims' were. After cooling down a bit and having some electrolytes they said it was algood to go and get some food and water and then time to head off to the water park for some cooling down! Unfortunately it was not my day and when I was lining up for something to eat I fainted again, this time hitting the back of my head and split it open slightly. No hurricane harbour for me!

Kate and Megan took me to, what they thought, was the Arlington hospital.. Instead it was a mental institute and the hospital was across the road. When we eventually got there the guys did a few tests, a cat scan and put 3 staples in the back of my head, $4000 American dollars later we were out of there. But the exciting day didn't end there. Rachel's mum came to pick us up to take us out for dinner (as it was a good 45 or so minutes to get home). She was driving her brand new Audi, which was spotless. We stopped to get some petrol, because Marsha was worrying about me she put all the windows down to keep me cool, she then went to get the petrol nozzle to put in the car.. However the person before her had left the lever pressed in so when Marsha pulled it out it sprayed all over the car, through the windows, on the spotless interior. Kate was sitting in the prime position to mop up most of the petrol (saving the seats from getting saturated). Imagine someone grabbing a fire hose and the hose being turned on full blast, that's what it looked like with Marsha and her petrol nozzle. After a bit of cleaning up we headed for dinner, the two classy NZers, one covered and smelling of petrol and me with a beautiful head wrap and blood drops down the back of my white top... We got a few funny looks.

The next few days were spent packing and eating s'mores (marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched in graham cracker.. The best American dessert invented). My bag was so full I had to have three people help me jam the zip closed. Thankfully I only had to pay $100 over weight luggage, even though I was about 15 kg too heavy. 16 hours later I arrived back home; the temperature drop was a bit of a shock to the system but other then that it was really great to be home!!