Need tips for the off season? I wrote about the do’s and don’ts in my October blogpost.
https://alpcycles.wordpress.com/2015/10/16/dos-and-donts-for-your-off-season/
October blogpost for ALP Cycles Coaching
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My September blogpost for ALP Cycles Coaching
Here is the link to my most recent written blogpost for ALP Cycles Coaching:
After the Season is Before the Season- why you should keep working with your coach in the off-season
The article is about why you should work with a coach year-round and why the offseason is a very important part of the year! Because: after the season is before the season!
Visit in SUI
It’s time to visit Switzerland! Offseason is here and after completing a difficult race-season (injury) it is time to reset my mind& body. Currently I’m in Switzerland and will spend some time here at home. I will get to see my family& friends. Although I’m already looking forward to be back in the US in mid November.
USA Pro Challenge
For the first time, the USA Pro Challenge added a 3 days womens race to its famous 7 days mens stage race. Our race program included the 3 stages in Breckenridge (TT), Loveland to Fort Collins and Golden. Everything was very well organized, a lot of fans came out to cheer& watch the race which created an awesome atmosphere. I’ve done so many races through my career but this was certainly one of the best races! It was a hard race especially because it is at (high) altitude. Team TIBCO-SVB sent a squad with 4 riders which included Jo Kiesanwoski, Tink , Alizée and me.
The TT was a bit tricky as it had a flat part but also a steep& hard climb and descent. I opted to race my tt-bike which I haven’t ridden since early May. Still I had a good ride and got 20th on the day. The next stage from Loveland to Fort Collins was hard& nervous. Strong wind created crosswind situations on our way to the long climb and made the race sketchy. The race split up in many groups. I finished somewhere mid pack. The last stage in Golden was a circuit race on a really hard& technical course. There was no place to hide or recover on that lap. It was fast from the gun, the front group got smaller every lap. The crowd was really amazing. Our team sponsors Vervecycling and Lagunitas had an event organized to get even more people out to cheer for us. Their booth on the course was a highlight every lap we came through- thanks guys! I finished 25th, teammate Jo came home with a podium- getting 3rd in the final sprint!
Thanks to everyone involved- I really hope this race will continue!
With this race in the books- my 2015 season is done. Being injured& missing 2 months of racing made things really difficult. Good thing about having a long off season is that I also have more time to solve things. News to follow later….
New blogpost about descending
This week it was my turn again to write a new blogpost for ALP Cycles Coaching. I wrote about descending- tips and tricks on how to descend better& faster. Give it a read!
CO Pro Challenge coming up!
Next race on my calendar is the Colorado Pro Challenge August 21.-23. This is a new race, for the first time there is a 3 days women’s race running next to the famous 7 days USA Pro Challenge for the pro men’s teams. I’m looking forward to this race as it is almost a “home race” for me 🙂 Cheer for Team TIBCO-SVB!
Blogpost this week
Good post by ALP Cycles Coaching owner&coach Alison Powers. In this weeks blogpost she’s talking about why a midseason break is important and how to stay motivated through the race season.
July Blogpost for ALP Cycles Coaching
My blogpost I wrote for ALP Cycles Coaching in July was about: how to deal with an injury. It got published last Friday on our website, here is the link:
https://alpcycles.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/how-to-deal-with-an-injury/
BC Superweek/ racing in Canada
The racing in Vancouver (CAN) started with the Tour de Delta, an UCI 1.2 road race. We worked for Jo and she pulled off a podium spot, getting 3rd in the bunch sprint. 1 day of recovery followed before we raced the famous UBC, Gastown and Giro di Burnaby crits. Teammate Anika and I added some more racing after that, competing also in the Tour de White Rock. 6 days of racing within 7 days was hard, especially because I haven’t raced on this level for 2 months. It was great to be back racing with my team, although I certainly had my up&downs during this week of racing. I was happy to end the week with a good race at the Tour de White Rock where I finished 11th in the hard&hilly road race.
Golden Gran Fondo
Last Sunday I did the Golden Gran Fondo. That was a first for me, I’ve never done a ride like this. It was a fun event with good organization and beautiful routes. I signed up for the 91.7mi ride with 10857 ft of climbing. I finished the ride in 5h45- it was a very solid training day for sure! Big thanks to Pactimo for the free entry. Thanks also to Alison for the company during the ride!
I will be back racing with my team in July and I’m very glad& excited about that! First up on my calendar are the races in Vancouver (CAN). I will compete in Tour of Delta, BC Superweek and Tour de White Rock.
Patricia Schwager 