LCC Rider Profiles are a way to showcase our members. We are proud to bring you our very first Rider Profile with our beloved Whitney Surgenor, from Cyclery Racing. Whitney shared with us her adventures at her training camp in Tucson, Arizona as well as the details from racing at Valley of the Sun (VOS) stage race Feb 17-19, 2023. Here is her first person account, so enjoy the ride!

Her time down south consisted of:

• 3 race days

• 6 team training ride days

• More than 720 km riding on the bike total

We would like to thank Whitney for her time and credit Cyclery Racing and The Cyclery Shop for supporting this piece.

Part 1: Valley of the Sun (VOS) Stage Race

Raced in the Valley of the Sun (VOS) Stage Race with two U21 riders, with one being a guest rider with us for the week from a U21 development team out of Milton, Ontario. The stage race consisted of a time trial, road race, and criterium. This was both of the riders’ first Pro 1-2 road race and criterium.

Time Trial: (I brought a knife to a gun fight) Brought a road bike to a time trail lining up against fully kitted out teams and riders. We were not the only ones, but also time trails are not my specialty. There were some women crushing the TT on road bikes. I used this as a “warm up” after a long travel day the previous day and the road race being the next day.

Road Race: This being the other two riders first Pro 1-2 road race, the goal was for all of us the be in the front 1/3 of the race. This was a great learning opportunity for newer riders in riding in a 60 + rider peloton. Overall, it was a success, no one was dropped and I was happy to see everyone actively positioning themselves and taking opportunities to drink and eat throughout the race. We also avoided all crashes, so another success.

Criterium: My goal for the team was to stay in the mix and jump on anything DNA, Twenty24 and Roxo Racing were cooking up at the front. So I worked to stay in the front half and even bridge a gap to a small break, although the break didn’t stick. The crit was exciting with something like 15 Primes (intermediate sprints for cash and merchandise prizes that can be announced at any time during the race). DNA, Twenty24, Roxo Racing Pro teams along with Équipe Primeau Vélo Racing were very active at the front. DNA continued to keep the pace high for the last 5 laps and the race ended in a bunch sprint. Race debrief: the two younger riders talk about how challenging it was to try and move up from the back of the race. Something to work on. And we discussed the difference in average power I put out in the race staying in the flow near the front, vs their higher average power output of them at the back and feeling the accordion effect. This effect is when the front of the race slows down to enter a corner which compresses the pack together and the last riders in the bunch slow down the most, and as such must also accelerate more out of the corner.

Whitney introducing her teammates to their first Pro 1-2 racing

Part 2: Tucson Cyclery Racing Team Camp

This training camp was focused on volume and riding as a team. We had 5 of us total down in Tucson with a team staff joining us mid training week. Team rides included understanding the fundamentals of group riding, especially handlebar to handle bar riding (no half wheeling!). We rode as one unit but, with communication, still had the ability to go up the road for interval sets and then regroup or add on more km with a smaller group or solo at the end depending on individual training goals. Also, we threw in a couple pacelines and sprints to spice it up a bit and have some fun.

The week was a blur of travel and then lots of riding with a range in weather. But we stuck with it and got in the following [table] in the first 4 days. And considering most riders hadn’t built up much volume endurance work yet this winter training season, we got a solid chunk of kms under our belts.

Day 5 Friday: Stretchie Spin (Homestretch) + Some. Friday morning, we joined the Homestretch Foundation community ride, then peeled off to hit up the Mount Lemmon climb …. Only to find out that the road up the mountain was closed due to trees down and snowy/icy roads from the storm earlier in the week. As I had already been up Lemmon I wasn’t too disappointed as there’s lots of great rides and elevation to be found elsewhere around Tucson, but the other riders, with this being there first time in Tucson, were understandably disappointed. I guess, another reason to go back to Tucson. We adjusted however to an alternative route and did some team car practice with our team staff. Practiced dropping back to the car, bottle feeding, and then moving back up to the group. Also going over what the different hand signals are in a race to communicate with team and support cars. Right hand up: rear flat tire or mechanical. Left hand up: front flat tire or mechanical issue. Holding water bottle up, need feed (water and/or food) from team car.

Day 6 Saturday: Famous Tucson Race Pace “Shootout Group Ride”. This is a race pace ride that happens every Saturday morning. There are two start times, the Shootout (A ride) and the Scootout (B ride). Tons of riders show up, don’t’ know exact numbers as it’s not an official event but maybe around 100 riders. The route is ideal for a race pace ride. The ride rolls out at a steady pace through the west side of the town, then when it hits the last 4-way stop sign intersection it lights up! Full on drop ride and every rider for themselves. For the next 40km it’s trying to hold onto the group along the route with no stop signs or traffic lights intersections until Sahuarita. Then recollect at a gas station and regroup through Sahuarita before back to race pace heading into Tucson again. I can’t wait to do this ride again. To give you a sense of the horsepower that showed up, Team Jumbo Visma U23 Colby Simmons showed up along with many other riders from pro, continental, amateur racers, and everyone else willing to put their best out there. Also saw an Ascent rider (Jude) in the mix, hat tip to Zola and Chloe’s teammate.

113km Shootout ride later and a team recollect for coffee and doughnuts at the Mercado, then off to do more kms up Gates Pass one more time with the teammates before hitting up the In-N-Out burger and back to the house to start packing our stuff to fly home the next day.

Thanks again Whitney for letting LCC come along for the ride! We look forward to seeing you on the road with us this summer.