Genevieve Whitson Elite Road Cyclist

Liberty Classic is the only UCI race in the USA and is also the biggest one day race in the States. It draws phenomenal crowds (300,000), teams from Europe and has got to one of the best races I have ever taken part of. It's right up there with competing in the 06 World MTB Champs which I didn't think could be topped off since it was in NZ and we had a home crowd, but Liberty was INCREDIBLE and I can't wait to do it again next year.

After a bit of a shocking build up to the race with food poisoning 4 days beforehand I was very concerned as to how I was going to go. I told myself to only focus on positive things like the fact that I was a little lighter than usual -I've been reading some great books on the power of the mind which definitely helped me out on Sunday. Would highly recommend the 'Power of Now' and 'New Earth' by Ekhart Tolle.

I feel had a good race. I rolled in 54th, 2 minutes down on the winner Ina Tutenberg (her 4th victory - gobsmacked) and was stoked to be a finisher in the event where a good 50 riders didn't make the time cut out of 130 starters. All it took to get pulled from the race was to be 8 minutes behind the lead group going into the final lap, that's a pretty mean time cut, but it has to be done with the men racing at the same time.

I was with the lead group until 200 metres from the top of the 'wall' the 4th and final time up, but I didn't quite have that final kick when it was needed. My team mate Melissa Sanborn rode a really respectable race to finish 38th, just two places outside prize money. I wanted to try and help her hit the top 20 mark but I wasn't there to do anything..

Results can be found here:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/16th-liberty-classic-1-1-we/results

The field at Liberty was very high class. HTC Columbia came across from Europe, Jeannie Longo was riding (LEGEND), there were a good dozen or so women have had top 15 finishes at the World Road Champs, along with a handful of Olympians. There were also 4 other kiwi girls riding, Joanne Kiesanowski, Catherine Cheatley, Linda Villumsum and Rushlee Buchanan. Joanne and Catherine both came in with the lead group and Joanne finished 9th! Linda came in with the second chasing bunch and Rushlee was just behind our small group. So on the whole not a bad showing for the kiwis.

I had heard so much about the 'wall' in this race that I had started wondering if one should bring a ladder along for a bit of an advantage. It was pretty full on, a 17% gradient and just as you thought it flattened it out, it had a final 200 metre kicker at the end. The crowds along this section were amazing. Going up the 3rd/4th time there were 3-4 rows deep of people on either side. Everyone was yelling out support 'get on that wheel!', 'you're so close now, don't give up..' - it was just so cool to be part of it.

To give you an indication on the difference in speed racing at say at a National level race and an international one like Liberty check out these stats. In April I raced the first round of the UK National Team Series in Windsor. It was a flat course with a very mild incline in each lap. We completed 80km in about 2.25. At Liberty the course was undulating with the horrific climb up Manayuk 'the wall'. We did 90km in 2.31 averaging 37km per hour. Thank god I got a new bike before the race.

Our team manager Todd Scheske did a top notch job. Todd really should consider going full time as a race director. He left no stone unturned and made sure our team of 6 riders had every chance for success, we are just sorry we couldn't quite deliver the top 20 goal we had aimed for. It also has to be noted how well my team mate Natalie Stoll did. Natalie had never competed in a UCI race before and was with the lead group for 2.5 laps. She even mixed it up a bit in the 2nd lap getting into a break away briefly. Natalie came in a 78th place - you rock lady.

So after competing in Liberty I can offer a few do's and don't's that may come in handy - I can not thank my team mate Sarah Caravella enough for her advice on the start line about the risk of crashing..

Do:
Do try at all times to stay in the top 20 no matter what is going on.
Do be no further back than the 15th wheel going up the 'wall' if you want any chance at a top 20 finish..
Do take that extra bottle of drink...you are going to need it. A lot of the women only had two bottles heading off the start line, and I saw riders suffering in the race. I packed an extra one in and it was a huge relief as the temperature started to rise, especially when it can be tricky getting into the feed zone to get that bottle that your body is screaming out for..

Don't:
Don't be anywhere near the middle or the back of the pack going into the ramp. Apparently this is the number one crash area and apart from this year (miraculous) there has been a major stack there every time. The road narrows from two lanes into one and riders just end up going into the curb.
Don't be anywhere near the back of the pack going up the 'wall' - the risk of falling off the back early in the race becomes too high. While you are just starting the climb, the top 15 are already over half way up and probably cresting the top..

And check out these links to read about the smell of bbqs, beer and bagpipes as we headed up the 'wall'...

http://www.roadcycling.co.nz/RaceTalk/beer-and-bbq-smells-taunt-kiwis-at...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/16th-liberty-classic-1-1-we/liberty-cla...

I've uploaded some photos at the end of the gallery but you can get really detailed photos of the 'wall' here:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/16th-liberty-classic-1-1-we/liberty-cla...

Our team’s next major race is Fitchburg at the start of July. This is one of my favourite tours. It's four days long and we get to race all over the town of Fitchburg finishing with a criterium in the city centre. It's a whole heap of fun because the locals are so friendly and the town really gets behind it. Till then, happy biking...