Attending the Tour of the Southern Highlands was a spur of the moment decision. Coach Zack suggested it to me, Meade, and Madeline one day, by that it had been decided. We were racing TOSH. The race fell during the first weekend of spring break and was non-collegiate. On Thursday morning after class we loaded up my little Camry and were off. The 4 hours on the road to Georgia were quite pleasant, we drove past plenty of farm land but also spent a good portion of the journey along a river with more kayaking shops than I thought existed. Like a race weekend with the team, we went straight to the course for pre-ride. Madeline was the only one racing the TT (it wasn't part a stage for me and Meade) so I followed in the car. Little did I know this would be part one of Laney the Soigneur (TM). Between taking a jacket, giving a bottle, yelling directions and navigating, I think I'm qualified to drive in the Pro Tour. I'm kidding but, man, I learned fast on the job. After her pre-ride we went to our host house for the weekend. We stayed with our teammate Diana's family. The Ramos's even better hosts than we could have asked for. I'm so grateful for all they did for us while we were there. I hope you one day have the honor of eating breakfast prepared by Mr. Ramos (its amazing.) After her pre-ride we went to our host house for the weekend. We stayed with our teammate Diana's family. The Ramos's even better hosts than we could have asked for. I'm so grateful for all they did for us while we were there. I hope you one day have the honor of eating breakfast prepared by Mr. Ramos (its amazing.) Friday began the Pro 1/2 races with a morning time trial and night crit. Madeline's TT start was a little after ten so we were able to catch up on some sleep before heading to the course. It was in this parking lot that the scale of this race really hit me. At that point it was just me and Madeline and our set up seemed so small and unprofessional compared to big teams that were in attendance. There were plenty of massive team tents housing matching bikes and trainers, some even had team mechanics. Madeline wasn't even riding a TT frame and when the rain started halfway through warm up I stood next to her with an umbrella in hopes of keeping her slightly drier. Our gear couldn't hold a flame to theirs. However, she proved how little that really matters. Gear is important to a point, but strength is so much more important. Madeline ended up 4th in the TT and was sitting nicely in 2nd place for the Queen of the Mountain jersey. She even got to start the next two stages wearing it as first place for QOM was in yellow. The criterium was another whole adventure. My soigneur skills kicked into high gear when we were stuck in traffic on the way there and realized we had forgotten a few very important items for the race. (we'd forgotten the numbers) I dropped Madeline off at the race with the trainer, her bag and her bike and went back to get them. Coach Zack arrived to watch the crit and I got to see a little bit of a coach's perspective while the race was happening. I stayed by the start line to text him updates from the announcer's booth and he went to the back to the course where it would be easier to give Madeline instructions up the climb. Madeline placed 3rd in the sprint finish of the crit. Saturday hosted the circuit race. It was a short 4 mile loop with one major climb and one major decent. Meade and I raced the 4/5 category and it was run alongside the women's 3 category. The race was spread out from the start. A large gap in abilities meant many smaller groups formed. I was just off the front a group of four, continually gaining time on them up the climb and getting caught on the downhill. Looking back on it now, I probably should have stayed with them up the climb to save my energy. I got second in the sprint finish from the group I was with and 8th overall. Sunday's race was similar, but much longer. The 4/5 and 3 fields completed 3 laps of the 15 mil road race course. I stayed with the group for most of the first lap but unfortunately got gapped at the very end of the QOM climb. I rode most of the second lap with two Belmont Abbey riders and then dropped them up the QOM climb myself. I held the lead on them for the entire last lap and again finished with a solid 8th place. Racing TOSH was definitely an adventure and I honestly can't wait for next year. I got to spend some quality time with my friends and race bikes. There's nothing else I'd rather do to kick off spring break. My next race will be on March 9th at Georgia Tech
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AuthorHi I'm Laney! I'm a freshman at Milligan College studying Mechanical Engineering and Multimedia Journalism while racing my bike on the road and cyclocross teams. I'm honored to have been blessed by God with these amazing opportunities and can't wait to tell you my stories. Check back here often to see what I've been up to. Archives
March 2019
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