Amanda Carey: Iceman Report

Jim Wannamaker from Kenda with my IceQueen trophy.
I, and many others, got to sip from it all night long.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has sent to me their encouragement, congratulations and hurrahs. Iceman has certainly been the highlight of my short racing career and it's been heart-warming to know that so many of you care and are cheering for me. Thank you!

I'd also like to thank everyone who lamented the male-dominated coverage of the race by Velonews. Whatareyougonnado? Sadly, as a female racer, I can't say that I was surprised. I guess I'm just used to it. Although it's not right, well....all I can say is welcome to our world of unequal payouts ;) Major props to Iceman, though- they gave equal payouts. Thanks, guys!

Back to the race: the forecast for the Iceman was for cold temperatures and a snow/rain mix, but the weather totally cooperated. I ended up doing my warmup on the road in almost every article of clothing I brought to Michigan, but was able to shed layers down to just a long sleeve and leg warmers for the start. Oh man, the start was slow. Frustratingly slow. Although there was a mad dash for the hole shot, after we all piled into the doubletrack the pace was way mellow.

However, the key piece of advice I got about Iceman was to ride it like a road race. Anyone who knew me during my first and only season of cat. 4 road racing would cringe right now, knowing that my old habit was to get on the front immediately, drive the pace way too hard and end up doing all of the work for the entire race, only to loose every sprint I ever contended. Patience was never my strong suit.

So, I promised myself that I would not do that at Iceman. I was practically chewing the side of cheek for the first half of the race, sitting in patiently, holding 3rd and 4th wheel. Every time I was tempted to attack I had that little voice in my head saying "no, no, no, no you don't need to go yet." Eventually, some small punchy hills separated the front of the pack and it was down to 4 of us about mid-way through the race. I decided to finally get out front and drive the pace starting at about mile 9. After a really, really long pull that selected us down to three, I turned back and asked Susan and Heather if anyone wanted to work so we could increase our gap. No one said a word. So I started to pull a little harder, knowing that the road crossing at mile 16 was coming up and that was the place I wanted to make a move. I figured if no one had the legs to come around me now while I was feeling good, I should try to increase the pace before I attacked.

I figured my best shot at winning the race was to attack then because the last 9-or-so miles of the course had a bunch of short, but significant, climbs. Getting a gap early meant I had some room to fall back a bit on the climbs if I started to fade.

As I saw the crowds starting to line the racecourse, I knew I was nearing the Williamsburg road crossing. There were hundred of cheering people, ringing cowbells and going crazy. I down-shifted and hammered as hard as I could the entire way up the climb, grabbed a sip from a waterbottle and drilled it as hard as I could. 1 min later I was totally alone and rode alone for the rest of the race.

The remaining 40-or so minutes were a total blur. The riding was stupid-fast, really fun and unlike any terrain I have ever ridden. Leaves? Sand? No rocks? What? It wasn't at all technical, which meant I could just open it up and hammer most of the time. Every time my mind started to wander towards the inevitable "what ifs" I re-focused and tried to ride a little harder. I was scared the entire way of what was going on behind me, knowing that Heather and Susan were perfectly capable of organizing, working together and catching me.

But, in the end, I finished 1st, exactly two minutes ahead. It was a great feeling to finish on top of the podium with my title sponsor, team manager, his family and my teammates there to greet me. I won a great payout, a tasty bottle of Michigan champagne (which took me, I swear, hours, to open on the podium because my hands were so cold) and a 40-something pound trophy made of ice.

A special thanks to David and his wife Nic and the kids for putting up with and feeding a house full of smelly-racers all weekend long. Special props to my new teammate Colin Cares for spending a weekend with us and still deciding that he wants to race for Kenda next year (even though we made him sleep on the floor) and to my current teammate Andy Schultz, who let his little brother Sam haze him relentlessly in the party bus. Of course, the biggest thanks goes to Jim Wannamaker and Kenda for all of their support and for making one darn fast tire!

I am already excited for the 2009 season in which I'll be racing for Kenda once again. We have a great team with super chemistry and a fantastic mechanic (thanks for everything, Ted) to boot!