Lauren Stephens has been pulling out the entire stops for what may very well be her final likelihood to make the USA Olympic staff, together with her sights set on Wednesday’s girls’s particular person time trial on the USA Cycling Pro Road Championships in Charleston, West Virginia. The winner of the occasion will get an computerized ticket to Paris.
After her victory within the Tour of the Gila, Stephens has been coaching at altitude in hopes she’ll be flying in terms of race day at simply above sea degree. Making the Olympics, she tells Cyclingnews, “is a part of my reasoning – I do not understand how for much longer I wish to do that as a result of it’s lots of exhausting work – how for much longer do I wish to work this difficult?”
“It’s not like I’m accomplished racing the street after this yr, however I’ve been saying that for 4 years in order that issues might change. So, making the Olympics is not a make-or-break state of affairs. It is one thing that impressed me to maintain going and to offer it a attempt.”
Stephens, 37, turned professional in 2013 and has been on the lengthy listing for the final two Olympics, lacking out on the 2016 Games in Rio, which she stated was a protracted shot. The 2021 Tokyo Olympic choice stung a bit extra. Stephens ended 2020 because the best-ranked US lady within the UCI World Rankings, combating by way of the COVID-19 pandemic racing lull by successful the digital Tour de France on Zwift after which, when racing resumed, the Tour Feminin de l’Ardeche.
However, when it got here time to pick out the staff for Tokyo, USA Cycling used its discretionary choice process to choose Leah Thomas, Coryn Labecki and Amber Neben to the staff regardless of their being ranked decrease than each Stephens and her then-teammate Kristin Faulkner, each of whom have been ignored for the staff.
“This is my third Olympics to aim to make – the primary one, I knew I wasn’t going to make the street staff, however I used to be on the lengthy listing, and that was fairly cool. And then the Japan ones have been fairly disappointing, to not make it, and truthfully, I did not actually suppose that I might have one other alternative.
“It was simply one thing that impressed me to maintain going however it’s not make or break – I do not make it, I like to race my bike. So I’m going to maintain racing and the Olympics is not the tip all be all, it’d simply be fairly dang cool.”
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Stephens has stored her profession recent at each alternative, from attempting her hand at gravel racing, marathon mountain bike racing and racing on Zwift. After racing for Tibco for her entire profession besides a single yr, nonetheless, she discovered that the staff would fold.
A contract with the brand new Cynisca staff and one other shot on the Olympic staff has stored her going. Her willpower to make the staff for Paris confirmed with an early-season win on the Clasic de Almeria, a stage of the Tour de Normandie Féminin and the general victory and two stage wins on the Tour of the Gila. The outcomes have helped her work her means again up the UCI rankings and is now second to Chloé Dygert among the many US riders.
Dygert earned an computerized choice to Paris as a world champion within the time trial and on the observe, so will not be racing on the nationwide championships. Since the USA has solely two locations for the Olympic street occasions, Wednesday’s time trial is a make-or-break race.
“The undeniable fact that Chloe will not be racing makes it rather more simple. Because if Chloe was racing and she or he received, then it could go to a discretionary choice,” Stephens stated.
“There’s lots of stress. It’s a flat time trial, which is not the most beneficial for me. I usually favor one thing that has some hills and is a bit more technical. But they’re attempting to imitate as finest as they will what it is going to be like in Paris. So I feel they’ve accomplished a good job at that. And all I can do on that day and do my finest. Will it’s sufficient? I’m undecided.
“We all noticed how effectively Kristen [Faulkner] is driving right here when she raced the Vuelta and there are additionally some outliers on the market – you by no means know what can occur on that day. It was attention-grabbing to see Lily Williams and Veronica Ewers on the beginning listing. It will probably be attention-grabbing to see what these women pull off on that day.”
The course in Charleston, West Virginia takes place alongside the Kanawha River on the flattest stretch of street within the Allegheny Mountain city, with the ladies racing 33.5 kilometres.
“It seems fairly simple – it is two laps on a parkway, sizzling canine model. You begin within the center, so there are 4 U-turns. The attention-grabbing half is wanting like we’re gonna have some rain, which I’m fairly enthusiastic about,” Stephens stated.
“The course is so simple – I like a bit of adversity in an occasion and the rain I feel might give me that edge – I simply would take pleasure in it to be a bit of extra attention-grabbing.”
Last yr, Stephens got here 9 seconds shy of beating Dygert on the nationwide championships in Knoxville in wet situations and stated, “I feel it was my edge final yr at Nationals. Once we have been on the market it was simply moist on the roads and flooding in a few of the corners and issues like that. But I feel it positively psyched some individuals out and for me, I identical to to embrace that adversity.”
Stephens’ total victory within the Tour of the Gila final month was simply the primary a part of her preparation for the Olympic qualifying race in West Virginia. It confirmed that Stephens is on a degree above most of her compatriots and heading in the right direction to point out it within the time trial. She received the opening summit end at Mogollon and held the lead by way of to the ultimate summit end in Pinos Altos, successful the time trial halfway by way of the five-day race.
“I positively knew I used to be driving effectively, and it simply reassured me that I made the precise determination to maintain racing for one more yr,” Stephens stated. “I’ve been quite a bit more healthy this yr. I’ve all the time been coping with colds and respiratory stuff for the final couple of years. I feel that the most important distinction is I’ve simply been wholesome the entire yr.”