NSGP Report: Amateurs Catch A Ride

For the second year in a row, the Birchwood Cafe and The Fix Studio combined to form a composite team for the North Star Grand Prix (NSGP). The team had two locals and four other riders from around the country.

Birchwood Cafe Cycling Presented by The Fix Studio Roster

• Ivy Audrain—Seattle, WA
• Tracey Cameron—New York, NY
• Corey Coogan Cisek—Minneapolis, MN
• Vanessa Curtis—Iowa City, IA
• Chelsea Factor—Miami, FL
• Jen Rife—St. Paul, MN

All of the team’s riders are amateurs: USA cycling category 2 and category 1 riders. Three of us have professional jobs: Vanessa, Jen, and Corey are a doctor, business analyst, and project manager, respectively. For these athletes, NSGP is a highlight in our cycling history, and participating is an achievement in itself, given that we balance training with demanding full-time jobs. Ivy, Tracey, and Chelsea are currently in more flexible work situations as they evaluate whether they have the talent and desire to make it to the next level. Birchwood Cafe Cycling Presented by The Fix Studio gave these riders a chance to race against the nations best while receiving professional caliber race support.  (Photo: Steven Gray)

There are significant barriers that need to be overcome in order for an amateur to compete in a USA Cycling National Racing Calendar (NRC) stage race such as NSGP. For NSGP, registration is by invitation only. While women can register as individuals, participating as a team gives one better odds of getting invited. Since none of our home teams were entering, there was relatively little chance that any of us would have been invited to participate without being part of a composite team.

Even if we could secure entry, competing in the event without the race support we received from The Fix Studio would have been nearly impossible. Professional cycling has a strong history and unique culture that make it attractive and exciting; however, those same traits can also be barriers to someone who is new to this level of racing. We relied on the expertise of Larry Foss and Sophie St-Jacques of The Fix Studio. Both have worked as soigneurs at the professional and Olympic level and Sophie is a former pro rider. Our team was pretty green when it came to stage racing (only one of us had every taken a bottle from a moving car!), so the knowledge they shared was essential.

An NRC stage race is apples-to-oranges compared to a local or regional race. With most local races, a fit racer can show up alone and do well without much support. However, stage racing is highly stressful and physically taxing. Back-to-back races, the pressure of making a daily time cut, and the constant vigilance required to stay out of trouble in a 100+ rider peloton is exhausting. Then there is the obvious physical requirement: we raced approximately 250 miles and our power meters recorded over 10,000 kilojoules of work.

A solo rider trying to manage logistics on her own could never produce the environment necessary to do well at NSGP.  Fortunately, Larry, Sophie, and Tracy Singleton of the Birchwood Cafe supported us in every way possible.  The team was provided with proper nutrition from the Birchwood Cafe, while recovery, mechanical attention, transportation, and race day support were all provided by The Fix Studio.  Birchwood Bike Team members and friends of The Fix Studio provided host-housing within walking distance of the studio.  As riders, it was our responsibility to race and recover; the team took care of the rest.

Throughout the week, The Fix Studio opened their facility for us to use as needed. We used their NormaTec and PodiumLegs compression boots daily to increase blood flow and promote recovery. We also received massages from Larry and Sophie, which gave us fresher legs, and the opportunity to discuss our races with them one-on-one.

On the bike feeds were provided by The Fix and handed up to us in feed zones by Birchwood Bike Team riders. In the evenings, the Birchwood Cafe provided us with good real food (much needed calories!). While good nutrition was essential, we also appreciated the opportunity to eat together as a team as well as to celebrate the race’s end with a meal at the Birchwood.

NSGP was an eyes-wide-open experience for all of us. Each of us is a bit of a local hero in our hometowns, but NSGP was in turns humbling and inspiring.

Ivy, who was our team’s top performer, explains the challenge of this year’s NSGP:

"The North Star Grand Prix produced one of the strongest start lists in the United States, and I can only think of a couple other races that are as 'real' as this one.... and by 'real' I mean races that are as fast, technical, physically demanding, fight-for-your-life real as this one.

Every top U.S. Pro team was represented, and they were each determined to make things fast and battle hard for G.C. This meant that if you weren't on one of these teams controlling the race, you were doing your best just to stay with them, which is one of the most challenging things, mentally and physically, you could imagine as an amateur."

Ivy was not the only one who felt overwhelmed at times. Vanessa explains her reaction to the opening time trial:

"One of the harder moments was looking at the results from the TT, and seeing that I was almost
last. Granted, there were only seconds separating 50th from 100th place, but I had to work hard to avoid the feeling of being an imposter and losing all confidence. As I found out, the TT times weren’t a good predictor of how the rest of the week would go, but I have never entered an event (athletic or otherwise) where I knew I was one of the worst competitors and had to be okay with that!"

In particular, Stage Three in Cannon Falls (97 mile road race) was a rude awakening. Though local and regional races can depend on teamwork, the powerful teams at the NRC level exemplify the fact that a bike race is won by an entire team working together. Early in the race, the strongest professional teams went to the front in the crosswinds and rode at an effort that “guttered” the rest of the field. Before the race, being guttered was something we had only read about: a strong group forms a tight echelon at the front. The riders who can’t get into the group stretch into a single file line on the road’s edge. The line is fully exposed to the crosswind and shatters whenever a rider cannot “hold the wheel” in front of her (stay within the draft). It’s one thing to read about guttering, but to actually be strung out in the wind and then dropped was devastating.

Jen recalls, “The low point of NSGP was getting dropped from the Cannon Falls Road race early in the race and having to resort to plan B to finish the stage. It is a lot harder to draft on a windy day when you're riding alone or in a smaller group of people.”

Ivy was the brightest spot in our team’s day in Cannon Falls. She chased hard to rejoin a pack that was working well together and they kept the time lost to a minimum. The rest of the team completed a very long day on the road in various trailing packs.

As Larry wrote in our evening email, “It was a hard day at the office.” No doubt. We all left Cannon Falls feeling a little shell-shocked. Conversely, we have great respect for the women who showed the power of team tactics in action.

For as many challenging moments over the week, there were highlights and lessons learned.

I learn something every single time I touch a bike! I was surprised at how much harder and faster this year's stage race was in comparison to last year. I left the stage race with a number of things I need to work on as an individual, particularly staying in the front of large fields and having the confidence to race with professional cyclists. The highlight for me was the St. Paul Criterium when I realized that I could hang with the main group the entire race. I am stronger than I realize! —Jen

It was really interesting to gain a bit of insight into the life of a professional bike racer. Reading Cyclingnews and racers' blogs, you hear about the glamorous and exciting side of bike racing, but now I appreciate the other side a little better. I saw a glimpse of the sacrifices professional racers make, such as living out of a suitcase, feeling pressure to race even when they are not feeling awesome or the conditions are poor, getting up after a hard fall and getting back in the race with a competitive attitude, constantly thinking about eating, sleeping and recovering appropriately when the race is done. I will definitely watch the sport with a different perspective, and I'll always be willing to be a homestay for racers! —Vanessa

Back when I was still Nordic ski racing in 2004, I watched NVGP in Stillwater, and said, “I think I could do that.” NSGP is a BIG deal to riders from the Twin Cities. The two times I’ve done this race are among my best memories. It was a heady experience. In particular, giving it everything to hold someone’s wheel, in the pouring rain, as the caravan moved through us in Menomonie, was memorable to say the least. —Corey

Birchwood Cafe Cycling Presented by The Fix Studio would like to thank Tracy Singleton of the Birchwood, Larry Foss and Sophie St. Jacques of The Fix Studio, the Birchwood Bike Team, and all those folks who shouted our names from the side of the course. We are truly grateful!