As I was reading my latest Bicycling magazine I read an article about tough road races. The author was focusing on how he goes to the Tour of Battenkill every year despite the fact that he is dropped almost immediately. He said that he just loves the course and that despite finishing over 40 minutes behind the winner he will probably do it next year.
The article got me to thinking about races that I would like to do at some point even if I can’t win. It’s not that I wouldn’t suspect that I could win, but these are races that I would do even if I didn’t win. I go into every racing thinking that I could win. Even when I know somewhere in my head that it is not a good race for my abilities I still think that I can win.
So these are the races that I plan to do at some point in my career. Some are more realistic than others right now but I am sure that in the future I can plan for them.
Tour of Battenkill- Billed as the hardest one day stage race in the United States it is 62 miles, as a Cat 4, of hills, dirt, and pain. It falls on the same day as Paris-Roubaix, which for you non-cyclist is one of the best one day races in Europe.
Tulsa Tough- A very tough series of criterium (crits) races. 3 races in 3 days around downtown and from what I understand they are fast, and highly charged fields. I need to wait until I am a Cat 3 to do this because Cat 4’s aren’t able to race the Friday course.
The Valley of the Sun Stage Race- Located near Phoenix Az, this is a stage race that often has some good pros. This race is more reasonable since I could drive there and it is a true stage race requiring every rider to complete each stage to start the next.
SRAM Tour de Gila- This is another race that is close enough to drive to but still a little far. It is a true stage race just like the Valley of the Sun and it has some challenging rides. It has a time trial, tough road race, a crit, and a circuit race.
California State Championships- In all skills, crit, road, and time trial. I have done the crit race and plan to do it again this year. It would be nice to compete in all three and see where I rank in my state.
US National Championships- They consolidated them all to one location in Georgia. I would like to try my hand against the best in the US or at least the best people that can afford to go to Georgia.
Cascade Cycling Classic- This is a tough mountain race. I don’t know why I want to kill myself but I want to give it a shot. This will most likely be a long term goal. I definitely need to work on my climbing before I make that attempt.
The Ironman World Championships- Once again I am not sure why I want to do this but going to Kona would be an amazing story. Finishing the race would be even better.
