“The Hill” took a year off last year, as did I, but we were both back in Huatulco last weekend for the fourth annual Huatulco ITU World Cup. The repaving crews probably fixed up the hill in the few days before the athletes arrived and I must say the addition of the cobbles at the top is an excellent touch! As for me, I somehow sneaked into the race despite my massive fall off in the rankings after an April/May/June filled with injury and no racing. It was great to graduate once again from continental cup to world cup!
Everything about the race in Huatulco is ridiculous. It’s incredibly hot (37C/99F during the men’s race), and the ocean offers no respite at well over 80F. The hill averages about 18% and we get to climb it eight times. Coming down the other side at 50 mph on poorly paved roads is fun, too (ambulancias waiting at the bottom). I laughed to myself as I started the run – this race is so hard! I made a few mistakes in the race, the most glaring of which was being caught behind a split in the front group with 7K to go on the bike, but in the end I actually secured an OK result (17th) and scored enough points to move into eighth overall for American men in the Olympic rankings. If I stay there I get a start at Olympic Trials next May in San Diego!
It looks like I may get a few more chances to “put it all together” at the World Cups in November (Colombia, New Zealand), so for now it’s back to training. Below are some pics. I’m in there somewhere…
