Tour De Femme done and dusted

3 days of Road Racing, a good opportunity for us Wairiki mtb girls (Monique, Samara and myself) to absolutely smash ourselves and get stronger for the upcoming national mtb season.

Day 1

The first day consisted of two stages an 11km TT up Takaka and a circuit Race. I really wanted to push the hills so I planned to absolutely nail the TT, however I spent too much time pacing myself worried that I would blow up before the finish that I got to the top and felt like I hadn't pushed it enough. I finished in a time of 32.43 which put me in the top 20 to start off the tour.

The circuit race started shortly after, all 3 of us Wairiki girls finished in the front bunch. In the race I just focused on positioning myself near the front and getting a feel for close road racing.

Day 2 Mon and me smashing it on the front

Again we had 2 stages ahead of us for the day, a 70km road race and a flatish TT. The road race had 2 major climbs, the first climb was Spooners I felt good going into it but at the top my quad started cramping and as hard as I tried to push it I just missed the lead bunch. I rode to the finish in the 2nd bunch feeling strong, Monique was also in this bunch feeling similar to me and she went for the sprint at the end coming second. Samara had kept on the front bunch slightly longer but in the end the roadies had that extra bit of pace and she also finished in this second bunch so the 3 of us finished together.

I felt a little out of my element in the TT without all the gears, although I did score some TT bars (Thanks Kerrian). I just put my head down and went for it, slightly overshooting the first turn but thanks to the marshal I just made it. After this slightly blonde moment I knew I had to put the hammer down. I finished just ahead of Monique and we both managed to gain a place in GC, not bad for us MTBers!

Day 3

Last day, 80km road race. This race was a bit crazy with a big crash taking out a number of girls with some ended up in hospital, pretty scary! I just missed the crash, and quickly got on the rest of the bunch which had continued riding. Samara and I soon noticed Monique wasn't in the bunch, she had been caught in the crash, luckily she had no injuries just a smashed up bike. I stayed in the front bunch for most of the race, feeling really good, however 20km out on the second climb I dropped my chain and wrapped it around my bike, so I couldn't pedal it back on. Once it was on I dug deep and smashed it to try get back on the leading bunch but ended up 3minutes down at the finish. Bummer.

All and all it was pretty sweet, getting to ride my mean new bike with some of NZ's best roadies to finish top 20 and learn heaps. Thanks Waiariki, and Bergamont. I will be adding some photo's soon.