It is a bit late to be getting into the review of last year, but it is always good as an athlete to do a hard evaluation of the year. It is a chance to celebrate success, but also be critical of your performance so that you can learn and grow.
Successes:
- Winning races – I finally put together some wins last year. A big part to having a strong team around me that I can honestly say put the win in my lap at least once. Thanks guys! I learned a lot about the kind of sprinter I am and how to put that to better use in 2011.
- Team structure – I was on a team that really rode with a single purpose and worked together well. If I was off on one day, we worked for a different sprinter. On other races we worked for other riders. We all came together and really supported each other.
- Racing – I was finally able to put together a real season of racing. I was actually race fatigued this summer, which hasn’t happened in years. It was a huge benefit to be out there racing a bunch and I was able to gain more experience from it.
- Injuries – I stayed mostly injury free. As always this is a combination of luck and work.
Challenges:
- Winning BIG races – The races I did well were smaller venues and not any of the big dogs. I rode well in some bigger races, but didn’t have luck or worked for other riders. I would love to win a major race in 2012 and my new team could be a big help towards that. We are looking even stronger than last year and have many more weapons to deploy.
- Cyclocross – I was super hyped about this and then I faced a series of health challenges. I wrecked my car and had some weird side effects from that. I also had chest pains in many races that had me backing off. I feel totally fine now, but it was a weird fall. Any race I did I pretty much got destroyed.
- Bike – I destroyed my sweet Orbea Opal in the garage. I miss it, but I don’t think the bike makes the racer anyway. Biggest thing for me was the fit, which is a bit harder to get right on my Felt SC1.
- Family – My wife had an illness this summer that was pretty challenging. But I think most of the fallout has been pretty positive. And this year should be smoother for it.
- Climbing – As always. I keep trying, but I just don’t get much better.
I’ll be releasing 2012 goals soon.