Dave Panella Memorial Cyclocross Race: My Second Cyclocross Race

The Dave Panella Memorial was my second cyclocross race. Since I already knew what to expect, I felt less nervous today. The weather was excellent for an autumn weekend, and my family came to the race to support me. It felt good. I competed in the women's category 5 with 3 or 4 other women. At the start line, most of them were super friendly to me. Still, I confess I felt intimidated seeing that they had cyclocross bikes and were probably more experienced than I am. We took off with all the men also competing in the same category.

I had my strategy at the start line: I will race this hard, and I'm going to be aggressive. If anyone is slow in front of me, man or woman, I will not wait until they figure it out. I'll overtake them and keep going, which I did. With that in mind at the start, I put myself in second place. I could see the first woman two people ahead of me. She was fast. She had a gravel carbon bike, which made her agile when lifting it. I ran with my bike in the first uphill, and while she was still figuring out how to mount back on, I took off and got first place.

I knew she would be fast on the grass, so I had to be quick on the trails. Having a mountain bike helped me. I felt confident that I could tackle that course. We kept fighting and challenging each other lap after lap. Because of that, she knew that if she didn't overtake me before we got back to the trails, she wouldn't win. Still, she was an absolute champion and overtook me in the final lap.

After the race, I talked to her. I discovered she is a gravel racer and also new to cyclocross. Knowing that made me feel more motivated. I felt thrilled to race and be challenged by someone with a similar experience level to mine. And, of course, I was super proud to have finished on the podium!

Things that worked well: I felt stronger than in my previous races. The terrain worked well with a mountain bike, making me feel confident. It was good to have someone with a similar physical/experience level to mine.

Things that didn't work well: I couldn't ride the short but steep hill toward the end of the route. I had to carry my bike all four times. Also, I could have pushed harder on the last lap, but I didn't. I think it was more mental than physical. It's something I need to work on for the next races!