gritsinnyc: A ‘Winning Weekend,’ in a way… Before I became a cyclist, I played a multitude of sports
gritsinnyc: A ‘Winning Weekend,’ in a way… Before I became a cyclist, I played a multitude of sports…mostly soccer, but I rowed crew for a little while and I also ran and did triathlon. In sports like these, it was always easy to evaluate your success. Did my team win? Yes or no. Did I get a new PR in this race or did I earn an age group podium? It’s fairly black and white and the results speak for themselves. It’s easy to know where you stand… Cycling, however, is a whole different beast. While it is a very individual sport in the sense of your fitness level and training, it takes ‘team’ to a whole new level, and requires a selflessness that I have never seen or experienced before. I think most of us that compete in this sport a fairly competitive people…it would be hard to participate in bike racing without being the type of person that is a little masochistic, enjoys suffering, and like to push themselves to limits they never knew existed…all for that elusive podium. The flip side of this is that obviously, only one person can win, and in cycling it isn’t always the strongest rider that wins…it’s the one who rides the smartest and who at times has the support of a team behind them.A couple of weekends ago I decided to stay local and race with my ladies in Prospect Park at the R & A Series and the Orchard Beach Criterium. The PP series race supported by R & A Cycles debuted this year and was the FIRST series of races with a field for the ladies - including a QOM, Sprinters, and GC jersey. Our team went out to PP with a plan…to nab the jerseys. As we came around and heard the bell for the first sprint prime my teammate — like clockwork — lined up in front of me in a beautiful single file line all aimed at delivering me to the sprint finish. I was a thing of beauty when you watch true selfless sacrifice at work. One by one they buried themselves to get me to the line in perfect position. To be honest, ALL of them are capable of earning that sprinters jersey, but they lined up for me — I tried to do them proud and ended up racing to a 2nd place finish in that sprint. A little while later in the race I was sitting in the back of the pack, I heard the QOM announcement, and when I glanced up to the front, I saw my teammate Lisa (our QOM hopeful) sitting at the front in the wind. I turned to my teammate to confirm that we both saw the same thing, and then without even talking…we darted to the front to shelter her from the wind. And we shredded ourselves to make sure she made it to the base if the hill in the best position (she did!). At the end of the race we organized and worked to lead out our top riders for the finish. I think I rolled in DEAD LAST at that race. At Orchard Beach in the ½/3 field I was off in breaks and led my teammate out for the field sprint (which she won BTW!). And…once again, rolled in DEAD LAST!If you look at my results from that weekend, you wouldn’t see anything spectacular — I rolled in dead last or 2nd to last in EVERY race that weekend. But I walked away from all of those races viewing it as successful…so why is that? I came in last…I should be mad, right? NO! My teammates went 2nd and 3rd at the PP race, and we won the QOM jersey (I swear I’m gonna get that sprinters jersey next race!). While only few get the glory of standing on the podium, in cycling the ENTIRE team wins…whether it’s because we led out our teammate for her to achieve that victory, or we attacked off the front and blew ourselves up to create that break…it all contributes to that moment when your teammate is sitting on the top step.There is no glory in doing these selfless acts, and for the most part the only people who ever know you did it are your teammates…if you looked at the results sheet it would look like a failure. I know better though…I look at that results sheet, and while others see failure…I see success. Success that is as sweet as standing on the top of that podium…For ‘my girls’ (my team), I would do anything, and I know that they would do the same for me. How cool is that? -- source link
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