Well, the 2008 Canadian Cyclo-Cross Championships are in the books. What a day. What a great day. Started early with Marc, Steve, and Rob racing at 10 a.m in the Masters B race. I had a blast watching these three guys race. Phenomenal racing by all three.

Steve, Marc, and the eventual winner (Sean) got away early and opened up a sizable gap. The group broke apart in the bowl – but with all three solidly riding away from the field. Sean was leading, Steve was in second and Marc was in third. Unfortunately for Marc he flatted and lost some spaces. Lucking a quick bike change was all he needed. Congrats to Steve for finishing second – a most impressive ride. Marc finished in 6th place – a great finish considering the flat and the distance to the pit. Rob had a great ride and finished 10th. I must say watching these guys raced helped me get excited for my race.

After the guys’ race I jetted back to the hotel for some food and relaxation. Then it was back for 12:00 to get in some laps of the course. Marc rode a few laps with me to help me see the lines and to give me some pointers. I felt pretty confident and relaxed. I was not letting myself get worked up and managed to keep my distance from the nervous energy happening. My race went okay – actually it went well. Just not the result I wanted or needed today. (I’ve posted a race report – go check it out for a full race recap). Essentially today I needed to finish within 105% of the winner’s time – this would have put me on the list for the World Championships – I didn’t do it. Sucks. But I’ll just have to work extra hard and try to get the 125 UCI points by Dec. 9 or somehow finish in the top 5 at the USGP in New Jersey (hey – it’s bike racing – anything can happen).

Okay, I’ve got to jet. Need to get a shower, grab some food and then chillax this evening. Racing again tomorrow so it will be another opportunity to get out there and have some fun (not to mention get some more UCI points).

Thanks for the support. The emails and positive vibes helped so much today. Huge shout out to Vince at The Cyclery for the incredible support – the bikes worked flawlessly today (this is also thanks to Steve – the best mechanic in Ottawa). Thanks to coach Steve for getting me so fit and fast – he has done wonders with me this past year – whenever I tell him what I want to do he simply says “okay – lets do it”. Thanks to Kingsbridge for their support – it makes much easier to travel to races when you have someone helping you out. I ate a lot of Clif product this weekend – gotta say I’m kinda addicted to the Banana Bread Clif bars and I love the Espresso gel. The Giro glasses rocked it out today – fit so smoothly with my helmet – thanks OGC. Body felt nice and limber as well – this is thanks to the power yoga sessions at Mountaingoat Yoga – gotta love my six-pack as well – this is all thanks to Heather’s tough sessions.