“Nothing like being fired as an athlete to fireplace you up,” was how Andrea Cyr summed up her shocking efficiency throughout the final 11 days at USA Speed Week, ending second general as the one feminine rider with Texas Roadhouse Racing.
Just three weeks earlier than, her season appeared to hit a wall, as her Miami Nights crew was abruptly shut down by National Cycling League administration, along with two different league-owned groups, leaving Cyr and dozens of different riders and workers with out employment because the racing season amped to full gear.
A rollercoaster of feelings and bodily logistics led her to a contract gig with Texas Roadhouse, then culminated, within the quick time period, with re-ignited confidence and health main into the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships, May 14-19.
“I went into Speed Week feeling insecure and nervous after the fallout of the NCL and getting fired from my crew then racing Speed Week with no teammates. But, I in the end needed to unravel myself as a racer to attempt various things,” Cyr instructed Cyclingnews from her residence in Indiana after the sequence.
“I’m actually glad about the place my health is correct now, and it’s the strongest I’ve ever felt. To end second general, only a tiny margin away from the general win, towards full groups, whereas lacking some racing and becoming in a full work week 500 miles away that very same week was past my expectations.”
Her state of affairs bodes effectively with one week till she strains up at elite ladies’s races within the criterium and street race at US Pro Road Nationals in Charleston, West Virginia. Now in her 14th season of racing on the street, she earned a silver medal within the 35-39 age group on the US Cyclocross Nationals final December. She has solely raced street nationals one different time, so it’s a new problem for the 36-year-old.
“I’m hoping to carry this health into Nationals the place I plan to race each the crit and the street race. I haven’t got particular expectations going into Nationals, however everybody desires to clearly win. Nationals is at all times a race that you just both win otherwise you lose. Maybe, no expectations is a greater place for me to be mentally proper now given how I used to be capable of race just lately having no expectations,” she stated.
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Last 12 months, Cyr was the runner-up within the general standings for elite ladies on the American Criterium Cup sequence, driving for the Miami Nights, and in early 2024, she took the general win on the Tour of St. Louis Omnium. Then, after the key pause with the crew disruption, she resumed with solo racing at Speed Week, highlighted with second on the Greenville Cycling Classic opener and prime 10s on the subsequent three races, together with sixth at Athens Twilight Criterium after triggering the motion with an early solo assault.
She had no targets to trip all eight races in Speed Week, which additionally featured two USA Crits race, however discovered herself within the orange chief’s jersey after an eighth place at Curiosity Labs Criterium in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. With an sudden return for the ultimate three of 4 occasions, Cyr narrowly missed the general title, secured by Kaitlin Rauwerda of DNA Pro Cycling, the powerhouse squad taking podiums in seven races, with three victories, with 5 riders.
Work-life steadiness
With the chief’s jersey on her again on April 28, she travelled again to Indiana to her ‘day job’ as Dr. Andrea Cyr, now the medical director at Indianapolis Rehabilitation Hospital of Carmel, which specialises with inpatient rehabilitation for individuals who have suffered a debilitating illness or harm. She is a sports activities drugs doctor in addition to being licensed for bodily drugs and rehabilitation.
But after lacking a mid-week sequence cease in Union City, Georgia, she determined to return and see what she might do, saying, “Frankly, why not?! I freaking love racing my bike”.
“I’m again to juggling full-time work with coaching. It’s one thing I’ve performed earlier than and I believe I’ve it fairly dailed in,” Cyr stated.
“I raced individually by most of my expertise, elevating within the sport as a cat 3, cat 2. I had a coach, however I used to be a sole feminine rider with out teammates. And it has been attention-grabbing as a result of I virtually really feel like I’ve mentally gone again to that area, sort of racing alone, and sort of coping with processing that mentally has been a little bit of a battle for me the final week, to be trustworthy.
“I’ve at all times struggled mentally to be labelled as a ‘sprinter’ after I really feel I’m rather more versatile than that as I proved my skill to animate the racing.”
She stated the freelance racing the previous few weeks gave alternatives to place for assaults, get in breakaways, work on a little bit of climbing on the Peachtee Corners course and take a look at the competitors, many, who can be in Charleston for nationals, like defending professional criterium champion Coryn Labecki.
“The high quality of the sector at Nationals is trying to be some of the aggressive ladies’s area’s shortly and I’m trying ahead and honored to line up close to the ladies who’ve been making American biking proud in Europe.”
After Nationals Cyr stated she would race Tulsa Tough and Tour of America’s Dairyland, and would contemplate affords for a ladies’s street crew.
“ I’m making an attempt to determine what is going to work finest, whether or not I’m going alone or with a crew, I believe that’ll play an element into what races I’m going to.”