CX SEASON RECAP // ADRIENNE ALLEGRETTI

Photo by @abovefourmedia

I started the CX season with a good base of fitness, skills and confidence from riding many miles of dirt leading up to the season. The first race of the season for me was at Calimesa Country Club. I was helping with registration that day and when it came to game time, I felt a bit rushed. After a good start in the Elite Women's race, my chain dropped and I lost a good 1/2 minute to a minute struggling to get it back on as the whole field passed me. Thankfully I was able to make up a few spots and still come in 5th. ​

Photo by @abovefourmedia

What quickly dawned on me as I went into the next couple of weekends of races, was that if I wanted to do well I needed to match the level of seriousness of my competition and get my head in the game. I determined to stop being cavalier and just jump into races thinking 'however I do, is how I do' but then finish with thoughts that I 'probably' could have done better but 'they want it more than me' or 'maybe if I wasn't so lazy I'd actually warm up before a race or start training'. So I enlisted the help of a friend who is a coach and asked him to write me a training plan. It was a huge help and provided me with the focus and much needed direction I needed.

Photo by @abovefourmedia

I felt the work I put in payed off and with each race was more confident that the result I got was the best I could do and I was never disappointed in myself. I had some wins in the Single Speed races but only got as close as 2nd 4 out of 10 times in the Elite Women's race. The rest of the elite races I was on a podium spot minus one race in which I probably should have stayed home for as I was not feeling well that day.

Midway through the season I went to Utah with my teammate Rhea for SSCXWC. I really didn't know what to expect. It brought a whole world of fresh air, clearing away a lot of the 'seriousness' that had built up from the SoCal race scene. How could it not when you had to jump over flaming barriers, race up a ramp into and out of a gutted out trailer, dodge other racers wanting to take you out in the Jello pit, shoot up and over deadly steep flyovers and then realize all the while that pretty much everyone is cheating. It was insanity and it was fun.

Lastly, I could not think of a better way of ending the season than at CX Nats in Tacoma with my teammate Diana, our fateful mechanics and partners in crime (Roman and Greg) along with a contingent of other SoCal racers there to wrap up their season too. The weather was truly Belgium. The good vibes and support from spectators and the SoCal family was so awesome. And I was left happy with my 10th place result and all the work that led me there. ​

Looking forward to more of this with this awesome team of bad ass women. 

photo by @the_hoff_