Tour de Nez Report

Last weekend I was excited to be able to attend the Tour de Nez in the Reno/ Tahoe area.  2009 marked the first year that the race had a 3-day omnium event for the women as well as the men.  There was a strong turnout in the women’s field with notable appearances from riders on Tibco, Value Act, Touchstone Climbing, Luna, Colavita, and more!  It was a mini-NRC, and the racing was strong and competitive in the women’s field.

The courses at Tour de Nez are some of the most fun I have raced in a while.  Here’s a brief recap of my races last weekend.

Truckee Crit

The first race was a short circuit through downtown Truckee, CA, a super cool town just over the border from Nevada.  The course was flat with some fun turns and a long sprint to the finish out of a 180 degree corner.  There was a great punk rock band set up on the corner blasting out some crazy tunes during the race, which made it a lot of fun.  I had a less-than-stellar performance, as I am just getting my mojo back in the group after a really nasty crash in a training ride a few weeks ago, which took me off the bike for a few weeks with a shoulder injury.  Anyways, I didn’t really do as well as I would have liked, but I had fun nonetheless.

Reno Crit

This course was AWESOME!  The race started next to a park (full of drunk, hilarious people), went through some windy, downtown streets, over a bridge, up a steep hill, and down the steep hill to the finish.  The Pro 1,2 men were hitting speeds up to 40 mph or more on the sprint to the finish.  CRAZY!  It was technical, hard, and tons of fun.  I felt better on my bike, confidence-wise, but was still getting used to riding hard with my shoulder.  Not to mention, my legs were a bit lame after the time off from training.  I stuck it out as long as I could, but I have to admit that I got pulled.  Not a good feeling, but racing back into shape is going to be hard no matter what.  The men’s race didn’t end until after 9pm, so it was fun to hang out downtown and watch them race into the night (not to mention a little nervewracking…).

Northstar Circuit Race

The last race course was definitely my favorite.  The start finish was in the middle of the village at Northstar (near Lake Tahoe) and everything was covered in cobblestones.  The course went out of the village, up a steep hill, down a steep hill, through some twisty-turny sections, and up a steep wall back into the village and the cobblestone finish.  It had a very European-fliar (so I’m told anyhow) and was a blast.  I felt great on the last day, but had a mechanical!!  Blast!  Oh well, I kept racing through it and had fun.

Check out these pics (forwarded to me by Sabrina from Veloforma - thanks!) of me trying to get my bike to shift into the big ring (yes, my shifting was the “mechanical” I mentioned).

It was basically a great weekend of individual time trial practice.  Not exactly what I had in mind, but it gives me plenty of fire to train hard for the upcoming Cascade Cycling Classic and Elite Nationals.  I will NOT be getting dropped again this season, believe you me. 

Also, Tour de Nez is a great race, and I really hope that they bring back the women’s omnium.  The courses are great, the fans are hilarious, and the vibe is good.  What more can you ask for?  See you at Nez next year!