The Sea Otter Classic XC 2015

The team left Bonelli #2 and made a stop in Marin, California to enjoy some great food, riding, and of course the beach.  

smiles for days

loving every bite of ProBar

oh and amazing Mana bowls

After a great week spent enjoying beautiful trails in Marin California, we made our way to the venue packed with endless tents, with a beautiful morning ride for coffee and lots of relaxing. 

Beautiful ride to coffee in Monterey

And I was ready to race! The course was long with lots of dirt roads and dust, I knew that crashing would not be uncommon on the loose and fast course.

riding the Specialized Fate

I warmed up with chilly fog all around me and was able to watch my teammates Anders and Carson finish before my start. On the line there were about fourteen 17-18 girls in my category, including my teammate Kelsey.

The chilly but very pretty morning fog

We took off and I settled into a spot right behind the leaders for the climb. I took the lead for the descent to avoid crashing, but let the other girls go back into the lead on the road descent. For the rest of the race we squeezed our way through the long line of categories in front of us. I was able to stay with Kelsey in the lead and I made sure to pace myself, drink, and eat throughout the long race. When we reached the final dirt road climbs there were about five of us in a group. On the last climb before the single track, Kelsey and I picked up the pace and then sprinted for the trail. 

I took the lead and picked up the pace a lot, with Kelsey right on my tail. When we got to the final climbs I stood and gave it my all. I was able to get a tiny gap from Kelsey before the road to the finish. I put my head down and spun as fast as I could to the line. I'm happy to take the win after such a close and exciting race!!

Clean up after the dusty race

Huge thanks to Whole Athlete for making everything possible, with all the support and fun. Stoked for the races to come!  

Next up for me is a trip to Europe! I will be traveling with USAcycling and teammates Carson, Chris, and Kelsey will be joining me, as well as Ksenia Lepikhina and Cassie Ross. I can't wait!

Bye bye Califonia! Hello new adventures!!