Editor’s note: Because of Internet problems, cyclist Alison Powers’ journals from the Giro d’Italia were delayed.
Former U.S. Ski Team downhiller Alison Powers of Boulder has risen quickly in the road cycling world, and she began racing in the women’s Giro d’Italia on July 6. Powers will report from the tour in collaboration with Denver Post staff writer John Meyer. This is her entry for July 9.
After four days of racing, one word can describe the Giro — surprise.
The 3-kilometer prologue attracted a surprising amount of spectators. Racing in the U.S. doesn’t seem to attract the hordes of fans that other sports do, so it was refreshing to see so many people excited about the race. I was happy with my performance. I gave everything I rode very strongly. However, after the race, I was a surprised and disappointed to learn my effort was only good for 16th place, 7 seconds slower than the leader.
The second stage brought a surprise to the entire race. The race was supposed to be 150 kilometers long. After 145 km of racing, everyone thought we were racing for third place as two girls had broken away from the field and it didn’t look like they were going to get caught. That’s why it came as a shock when we passed the 20 km-to-go sign. With the extra kilometers added to the race, the two riders were caught and the sprinters battled it out for the top of the podium.
The morning of the third stage brought the third surprise of the race. At 7:15 a.m., there was a loud pounding on the hotel room door. It was our team director waking us up for drug testing. He had received a call from the UCI (International Cycling Association) saying that three of us had blood testing in 10 minutes. We hurried, got dressed and went to the designated spot. Each of us had two small vials of blood taken. They tested our hematocrit and checked for any foreign substances. We later found out we were lucky to sleep until 7:15. Some teams got the call at 6 a.m.
Monday brought the decisive time trial up a 10-km climb. It was surprising how fast some of the girls went up the climb. I felt really strong, rode well and am happy with how I did, though I was beaten by almost 4-1/2 minutes.
After a four-hour drive to our hotel, the team is ready for the next five days of racing. And now instead of being on the receiving end of the surprises, we hope to create some. So far, we have ridden very smartly and saved our energy as much as possible while the bigger teams have ridden hard, thus tiring out some of their riders. We will be racing in the hopes of getting on the podium in one of the remaining five stages.
Being content with small victories
This is Powers’ entry for July 16:
After racing the Giro, I have a new respect for bike racing. I had always known it was hard and that racing day after day was mentally and physically draining, but the Giro was a different experience. Racing a nine-day European stage race opened my eyes to a new world of cycling.
Every day was a hard-fought race from start to finish. It didn’t matter if it was a mountain stage or a flat circuit race, the speeds were high, the temperature was hot and everyone was fighting for a good result.
This type of racing doesn’t happen in the USA for women. The level of fitness and the level of racing is so much higher in Europe. So, it is always a shock to Americans when they come to Europe for a long, hard stage race.
Unfortunately, as a team, we didn’t have any results to brag about. Even if we didn’t get a podium or stage win, each of us had our own personal battle and victories we can be proud of and take home with us.
The best result for the team was my 16th place in the opening prologue. However, the race turned out to be more about the experience than the results. For me, I am happy to have completed such a long, hard stage race. I felt strong and ready to race every day but one, and that one day was after a long solo breakaway in the mountains the day before, so I was OK with that. I now know what kind of fitness is required to be among the best, and I have renewed motivation toward my training and my goals. Next time, I want to come to Europe and not just survive, but do well and be among the winners.
It is a wonderful feeling to have raced and completed my dream race, the Giro d’Italia Femminile. But next year, I want to come to my dream race and bring home results to brag about.
