Racing in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania

Soooooo, after having a massive reality check returning from Trinidad and Tobago I got back into the swing of things with a bit of general conditioning in the gym with Simon Jones, fixed up my nutrition with Aimee Burns here at the Southland Academy and also got some decent track time into my legs ready for some racing over in Trexlertown (T-Town). T-Town is an outdoor concrete 333 metre track which is the home of the Valley Preferred Cycling Centre they have hosted World Cups, Olympic trials, Junior World Championships (twice), national championships and countless major international competitions.

I will be leaving on the 1st June and will be there for 4 weeks, racing every Tuesday and Friday night for Team Novo Nordisk along side my team mate Mandy Marquardt and hopefully I will see a few kiwi's whilst I am there too :) I am going to be racing in The World Series of Bicycling, which starts on the 7th June and runs through to the 30th August, it has a mixture of sprint and endurance events, each night has a wee promotion to keep the nights exciting for both the cyclists and the fans, the schedule is below.

So, this will actually be my first trip to America let alone T-Town, I am really looking forward to this opportunity and hope to gain lots and lots of valuable experience! If you have twitter you can follow my progress following this link here and for those who do not I will keep this updated as much as possible!

I hope everyone has dodged the early winter sickness, it is that time of the year and it sucks!
Bye for noooow,
Steph :)

2013 World Series of Bicycling Schedule:

JUNE
FRI 7		US Sprint Gran Prix
FRI 14		Keirin Cup/10 Mile Championship
FRI 21		UCI Festival of Speed presented by EnduroPacks
FRI 28		Red Robin BRL Finals/Mike Walter Madison presenting by Kratzer Orthodontics
JULY
FRI 5		NO RACING
FRI 12		Keirin Revenge
FRI 19		The Golden Wheel Race presented by Bear Creek Mountain Resort
FRI 26		USA Cycling Jr. Naionals
AUGUST
FRI 2		Tandemonium/Women’s Open
FRI 9		Rodale Corporate Challenge
FRI 16		Deer Park Natural Spring Water UCI Fastest Man on Wheels presented by Univest
FRI 23		Air Products Program Championships
FRI 30		UCI Madison Cup presented by Salamander

A Caribbean Experience!

Wow, where do I start?! Let's be honest here...

Njisane 3 Day Cycling Festival #N3DCF, Wining, Paint party I Love Jamishness, Tobago, Nylon Pool, Boat Party, fresh fruit, Soca, Bus trips, The Hyatt Regency Hotel, Car Park Party, Coconut Water, Flat car battery and so many more memories that I will never forget, I could write a novel, but will keep it brief! So it all begins here:

We arrived in Trinidad and Tobago Saturday 13th note at 5am going from Christchurch - Sydney - Vancouver - Toronto - Trinidad. So the journey was rather long but we can all agree it was well worth it! We got to the Hyatt Regency Hotel went to our rooms 'Showfield' and I shared a room and then found ourselves poolside very quickly to overcome our 'jet-lag'. We were given a brown paper bag with a few things inside it and we were told we are going to a paint party at 3am and instructed to wear the singlet.

Small - Large the aftermath

Ompa loompa... party is about to get real!

So it hadn't been 24 hours and were already experiencing a little bit of Trinidad and Tobago's culture. This is where we were introduced to wining - note i haven't spelt winning wrong,wining it is a way of dancing? Is that correct? I think it is, we were a little surprised of how it works - let's just say it is a whole lot of hip action with a lot of people! I think by the end of the trip after getting experts teaching us we found some rhythm.......They were explaining to us this was only tiny compared to 'Carnival' so this has given us more reason to come back to the Caribbean to experience Carnival!!

Postcard material

We're on a boat

Nylon Pool

A couple of days later, we were mean't to take the boat to Tobago which took 2 hours at 630am, but we sadly missed out as the boat was full. So, we jumped on a plane at 930am and went to Tobago for the day. Once we arrived in Tobago we went straight onto a Glass Bottom boat, bonus was we had speakers to crank up whilst on the journey. Went on jet skies, ate some sort of crab meal, snorkeling and saw dolphins whilst jet skiing . But, my highlight of Tobago was when we went to Nylon Pool - a shallow coral reef, which is located in the middle of the ocean just off Pigeon Point. It was amazing!

43 #RaceNumber 

Raffle sprint

Wining - Getting amongst it

So this trip was cycling related. We were invited to race at the Njisane 3 day cycling festival. Njisane Phillip went to the 2012 Olympics as an unknown or a non favourite, he ended up 4th in the Sprints and 7th in the Keirin. He put this event on to promote cycling in Trinidad and Tobago and encourage young cyclists to take up cycling and also to promote his country which we were part of. The event was well thought out and was delivered well. There were 3 women's teams made up of 5-6 ladies from different countries, I was in Team 2 along with Olga Streltsova (Russia), Hannah Walker (Great Britain), Kianna Lester (Trinidad and Tobago), Graciela 'Chely' Arreola (Mexico) and Shelby Renolds (USA) and we were all managed by Stuart MacDonald.

Raffle Sprint 3rd/4th - Tarsh

Raffle Sprint Round 1 - Juliana (Columbia )

Raffle Sprint Round 2 - Katie

Our goal was to set out a plan and make sure we executed it in each race, personally I think we all did very well I certainly learn't a lot about endurance races!! (taking a lap and rejoining..haha eek). I am glad we were able to work as a team and also teach Kianna (only 15) what to do and what not to do during races - watch out for her in the near future!

At the beginning I had no expectations of Trinidad and Tobago, I was very open minded. Whilst we were there we ran on 'Trini Time' so we had to take it day by day and moment by moment, most things just fell into place and no one worried once! We didn't want to leave, after experiencing a taste of what Trinidad and Tobago was all about, they like to party - that's an understatement! Nothing is going to get close to what we experienced, I'm definitely going to go back that's for sure. 

I hope everyone knows where Trinidad and Tobago is now and understands their culture - I am sure that we have provided everyone with a taste of what to expect I can say that it is a place to visit and 'Carnival' should go onto your bucket list right now!! Thank you so much to Phillip, Marie, Lershaun, Varun and of course Njisane for giving us the opportunity to experience Trinidad and Tobago! 

Take Care,

Steph :) xx

Boat Party

In the local paper

Fruit salad provided during racing

Calm before the storm #JLD

Just living Daily

Overnight stay at Wellington Airport

Trinidad and Tobago - 3 day Festival

Hey there!

You're probably thinking Trinidad and Tobago, where is that?! I thought the exact same thing, Trinidad and Tobago is an island country found in the southern Caribbean lying just off the coast of north-eastern Venezuela and the south of Grenada. Yes, the Caribbean! I am heading off to the Caribbean along with team mates Katie Schofield and Natasha Hansen next week (12th) to attend the Njisane 3 Day Cycling Festival along with other international cyclists from France, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, USA, Venezuela and more. In addition, there will be live performances from locally renowned artistes and rhythm sections - I so cannot wait! 

We will be racing on the 19th April at the Arima Velodrome and Skinner Park in San Fernando on the 20th and 21st April, both are outdoor concrete tracks. The main idea of this trip is to gain more racing experience. I also would like to embrace their culture and see what Trinidad and Tobago is all about as this is a place I have never been too.

THE SPORT Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SPORTT) has invested a massive $1 Million dollars into the "Njisane 3 Day Cycling Festival". The idea of this event is to try enhance and further develop Trinidad and Tobago's sport tourism and their also their culture.

Will let you know how things go and keep you updated :)

Ciao for now,

Steph 

Good start to 2013!

Well it's better late than never, Happy New Year everyone!

We are already half way through the month of February before you know it it'll be the end of summer - crazy huh and what an awesome summer it has been - believe it or not! I have just got back from Wanaka - the best weekend I have ever had in a while! Good people, good weather, sunshine, spa, pool, soul searching, hide 'n' go seek, BBQ, egg's benedict, waffles, drinks, boating, Leroy and countless yarns about yarns.Was such an awesome weekend that will never be forgotten! 

Egg's Benny

I have been doing a wee bit travelling over summer whilst doing some low key training, on the road and in the gym preparing for track nationals. I spent Christmas in Christchurch and drove up to Nelson on Boxing day to spend New Year's there, then went back to Christchurch for the Denton Park New Year carnival. I have only ridden this once before and I can say that this year was the best I have ever seen, there were heaps of riders across all grades. Lots of people headed out to watch the two nights of racing which included some world class riders they definitely got their money's worth! The day after the carnival I headed back to Invercargill to attend the Mexico World Cup camp, I used this week to get back into a routine both on the bike and in the Gym with Jonsey.

Nelson :)

1 Lap Dash Final. Photo Credit: Bruce Wilson

Scratch Race. Photo Credit: Bruce Wilson



1 Lap Dash Heat. Photo Credit: Bruce Wilson



Katie Schofield - Me in her visor reflection.  Photo Credit: Diaane Manson

Katie & I. Semi-Final round 1. Photo Credit: Dianne Manson



Sprints "Changing Diabetes". Photo Credit: Diaane Manson



 Track Nationals were held from Jan 31st - Feb 3rd starting with Elite women's standing 250m lap in the morning in a straight final and I was happy with a PB of 19.730s which got me a Silver medal. Later that day we had our 500m time trial so we did 1 lap in the morning then upped our game to 2 laps in the afternoon I again did another PB of 35.376s for a Bronze medal. 

The following morning we had our 200m qualifying (11.414s), I just went under my previous PB from a few years ago so that was a good sign, I made my way through the rounds first racing against Kate Dudley (WCNI) then Katie Schofield (OTAGO) in the semi-finals, which is a best of three I was able to win 2 straight and go through to the finals against Natasha Hansen (SOUTHLAND). Later that night we raced for gold! Last we we both raced for gold as well, this year I was able to win the first round and went into the second round confident that I could win, I did just that I won the Elite Women's Sprint for the first time in 2 straight wins! 

The next day were the keirins we only had 2 heats which meant only the top 3 were to go into the final that night. Unfortunately I just missed out and raced in the 7-12 I was a wee bit disappointed so I went into the 7-12 wanting to dominate and win. I did just that and won the 7-12 happy but a little bit disappointed. 

The following day I teamed up with my teammate Natasha Hansen for the Elite Women's team sprint last year we won this event so we went into the race confident. We had qualifying in the morning with 5 other teams and the top 4 go through to 3-4 and 1-2 we were top qualifiers and just outside the NZ record, later that night we raced for gold yet again we were ready! In the final we did a 34.284 which meant we broke the NZ record and won gold :)

LINKS:

Individual Sprints:

Semi Final 1 at 0.11s 

Semi Final 2 at 2.37s

Final 1 at 5.41s

Final 2 at 8.52s:

Team Sprint (NZ Record) at 3:45s

500m Time Trial at 4.56s

Keirin B Final at 2.34s



Natasha and I after winning the team sprint :)



Sprint rounds

Sprint rounds, on my way to my first elite title 

Sprint Podium :)

Happy!

I have a couple more days off the bike and will slowly be getting back into it with a few coffee rides here and there and some cross-training in the gym for some fun. Uni starts back up on Feb 25th where I will be doing 3 papers this semester Intro to Sport Management, Intro to Food and Nutrition(double semester) & Sport Performance(double semester).

A few articles from the Southland Times:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/8254213/Wait-worth-it-as-McKenzie-grabs-title
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/sport/8257895/Hansen-dedicates-record-ride-to-late-friend


Thanks heaps!

Steph

Team Novo Nordisk - One Team:One Goal

Hey everyone,

The women's team that were available for
our first team camp 

As 2012 comes to an end I am very pleased to announce that I will be part of Team Novo Nordisk  for 2013. I will be representing the team on the track when possible. Since becoming a part of this team it has made me more determined to motivate people that have Diabetes especially young children. As a team we want to raise awareness about diabetes; One Team:One Goal - To educate, empower and inspire everyone affected by diabetes around the world!

After a quieter year which involved just under 2 months of training overseas alongside the New Zealand sprint squad as they built up towards the London Olympics I gained some valuable experience both on and off the track. I have been very fortunate enough to have traveled for the first time ever to Newport – Wales, Valencia – Spain, Cottbus – Germany and I am about to leave Alicante – Spain after a 10 day camp with Team Novo Nordisk.

Some testing - we need you do go hard for 20mins? What's that? Go hard means sprint full gas?!

CHANGING DIABETES. History lesson on how this all evolved 

Some of the kit - how I got it to fit in my luggage? I don't know!

Our accommodation for the camp

Looking towards Alicante

Get on board and support this newly formed team! Watch out for Team Novo Nordisk's new website coming out in the new year!  Make sure you 'follow' the team on Twitter or 'like' their page on Facebook

Here is a recent write up from Road Cycling Magazine NZ 

I am really looking forward to the rest of the track season currently training for the New Zealand Elite Nationals (Jan 31st - Feb 3rd) and will also be racing on Denton in Christchurch at the New Year Carnival  on the 3rd and 4th of Jan if your in Christchurch come along at 7pm each night - see ya there :)

Thanks for tuning in, I hope everyone has a safe festive season - Merry Christmas and a Happy New year! Catch you guys over summer!

Adios xx

Adelaide - Alicante

 Well what a week it has been, I have just returned from Oceania's where I leant heaps. I then stayed a few days in Christchurch and have now arrived in Alicante, Spain for a few weeks.

Thanks for checking my blog out. Sorry there's a bit of writing but lots of pictures at the end, I hope you enjoy! :)

500m Time Trial Podium - Katie, Kaarle and I

I arrived in Adelaide on the 25th November at 1130am along with Cathy and Bradley, we were ready to set up camp at the airport because the rest of our awesome Southland team mates didn't arrive until 730pm! As bad as it sounds the 8 hours at the airport wasn't actually that bad after a few too many coffees haha. Crazy Cathy went for a run during the hottest point of the day, whilst Bradley and I just kept ourselves entertained inside. Cathy was already sunburnt after her 24 hour adventure race the day before in Southland! 

We meet up with the rest of the team and headed off to our accommodation....the Palvos Motel. Once we arrived we got settled in and prepared ourselves for a early wake up call for the most important journey - the food run! We were later warned about the snakes that have been hanging around the track, not just any snake but the brown snakes. One of the most venomous snakes in the world - If you were bitten you had 15mins to live!!

Racing was kicked of with the men and women's team sprint and followed by my first event in session 2 - the 500m time trial. I recorded a 35.562 just inside my current PB and placed me third. I hadn't done a 500 in a while it just reminded me why I don't do them often!

Keirin Round 1 

The following day I had the Keirins (riders are paced by a Motobike/derny then race for 2 1/2 laps). I was very keen to do some racing, my first round went very well I had Kaarle NSW, Katie NZ, Victoria NZ & Tian WA. The top 2 go straight through to the semifinal later that evening. If you don't make it through the riders go through the repercharge to get a second chance of getting into the semifinal. I was lucky enough to make it straight through to the semi's along with Katie, that meant we were both able to go back to our motel to relax and recovery for the evening session.

Keirin Semi-final

My semi final managed to have all the Steph's! Steph Morton SA, Stefanie Fernandez-Preiska NSW & myself also Henrietta NZ, Tian WA & Taylor QLD. The first 3 people go to the 1-6 final and the rest to the 7-12 final. I was just able squeeze in front of Stefanie NSW to get into the top 3 and go through to the 1-6 final along with Taylor and Steph Morton.

The final was in about 90mins so enough time to relax but not enough time to go back to the hotel. The other 3 that joined us in the 1-6 final were Katie NZ, Cassandra NSW and Kaarle NSW - this was sure to be a good race!

I drew 1 so had to take the bike if no one else's wanted it - I had to keep and eye on what was going on behind me, Kaarle came over the top of me with 2 laps to go i then stayed behind her. I was then 'boxed in' I had to be patient until coming into the finishing straight and managed to maneuver around and get 3rd! With Steph Morton taking the win from Kaarle.

Keirin Round 1

Keirin Final, Podium - Kaarle, Steph and I

Keirin final result

Medal winners for the last bit of the session - I'm the lonely New Zealander!

Nick's crash!

The following day was a rest day - I went for a wee coffee ride and that was the highlight I my day. Rest day means feet up and stay off my legs so that's what I did, oh I also did a wee food shop - pretty exciting!

One of my fellow Southland team mates were unlucky and crashed in the U19 Men keirin heats. But Nick Kergozou made it a very spectacular one indeed, unfortunately he came out worse for wear with a clean break in his collarbone - OUCH! It was his first broken bone so being a boy he was pretty stoked, but not so stoked when he was only given panadol to ease the pain! Hope he heals up quick it seems to be he season of broken collarbones after Racquel Sheath's unfortunate crash and then Hayden McCormick the night before. Hope everyone has a speedy recovery!! :)

200m qualifying for sprint rounds

Qualifying and sprint rounds followed my rest day - this was going to be a very, very long day! I recorded a 11.574 not a PB for me but it has been my fastest time for just under 2 years, always got to see the positives! This qualified me 4th just behind Natasha Hansen NZ. Only the top eight go through to the 1/4 finals which is a best of 3. First I was up against my own team mate Katie Schofield NZ - both races were different but I was able to win 2-0.

I meet Kaarle in the semi-finals, I've been very lucky enough to race her a couple of time over the past year and a half and I'm still learning! Kaarle bet me 2-0 but I left everything out on the track, both being close races. I would now ride off for 3rd & 4th against Taylor Jennings QLD.

1/4 final against Katie best of 3

Katie and I - Round 2 

Semi-Final against Kaarle, Round 1

Semi-Final against Kaarle, Round 2

Taylor has been very successful throughout her Junior years becoming double junior world Omnium champ and also other junior world titles to her name. She has now chosen to move back to sprinting, she's a very classy rider. That showed with both of us winning a ride each and having to go to a 3rd and final decider. I ran out of legs in the last race but did what I was told and learnt a lot, Taylor won 2-1 to win the bronze and I settled with a 4th.

3rd & 4th Final, Taylor and 1

Sprint rounds - Stu taking me up to the line

Overall I had a great week on the track coming away with 2 bronze medals and a 4th, I learn't heaps! The support crew we had were wonderful and very talented tire pumpers hahaha. Thank you so much to Dale and Cathy for sticking up with the heat, pumping our tires  running around for us and being super awesome! And also to Stuart my coach thanks for helping and being my coach haha it was a good wee week!

Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you have enjoyed reading it and have caught up with what I've been up to.

Catch you soon!

P.S. Photo credit to Mr. Richard Morton (Steph's dad) for most of the images - some awesome pictures!

Steph :)