Jackie Crowell: Recalling NVGP Last Year

During the NVGP, we're going to have a few riders on the board blogging during the week. This will give us, the recreational cyclists, a closer look into what professional riders do, think, hear and say during a six-stage bike race. Jackie Crowell, from Team Type 1, has her first entry below:




This is my first entry in what will be a series of blogs that share my experience “behind the scenes” at this year’s Nature Valley Grand Prix.

My name is Jacquelyn (more commonly referred to as “Jackie”) Crowell and I’ve been riding a bike my whole life…but this is my first year as a professional. I started racing seriously three years ago and it has brought me to where I am today.

I’m very proud to be racing for Team Type 1. I also race for the University of Florida, where I major in mechanical engineering. I get a kick out of how much the two – engineering and cycling – can complement each other. A lot of what I study, I can apply to what I see in my cycling equipment.

I am also very supportive of collegiate cycling and recently got runner-up at the omnium at the National Collegiate Cycling Championships in Fort Collins, Colo.

We have two riders on Team Type 1 who have Type 1 diabetes, one of whom will be at this year’s race – Morgan Patton. Last year, she was my competition and now we’re teammates. I didn’t realize until last year’s race how much having Type 1 diabetes can affect your performance. Hopefully, we’ll both be able to tackle this race because we’ve both learned a lot about racing after doing the NVGP last year.

When I raced here for the first time last year, I had a good time, and it was definitely the hardest race I had done up to that point. This year, I know what is coming and will hopefully be prepared to tackle the competition, help the team do well and do well myself.

What I remember from last year’s race is that Kristin Armstrong, the former world time trial (and eventual Olympic time trial) champion was there. I also remember it being very windy. I had never really had to deal with the wind being a big factor in a race. Usually it’s the climbs that break things up, but at last year’s race, the wind was the most difficult thing. Watching Kristin and the Aaron’s team go on the attack while I was dying at the back was certainly a struggle. This is one of the things I’ll avoid this year.

In 2009, I also have team obligations to perform here (covering breaks, leading our sprinter out, getting bottles, etc.), which I have never had to do. It’s going to hurt, that’s for sure…but I’m OK with that.

I’ll be sure to keep the devoted readers up to date as the race nears, and provide some insight during the race week.