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Greetings!
This Month's editorial is provided by Timmy Duggan, a proud alum of the ACA Junior Development Program, 2012 Olympian, and the 2012 USA Cycling Pro Road Race Champion.
The Long Road Back
If cycling teaches us anything, it's that you have to have the deep, low valleys in order to have the high peaks. This analogy relates to your fitness over the course of the season, how you gauge your energy within a race, and especially the process of coming back from an injury. Bike racing is an inherently difficult and risky sport, and no doubt a lot of us have had our fair share of injuries as a result of high speed pavement contact or even just fatigue.
This has certainly been evident in my professional career. In 2008 I suffered a traumatic brain injury from a high speed crash at the Tour of Georgia. After that, I had to take a year out of racing and take the time recover back to normalcy. Such a serious injury nearly killed me and returning to my elite cycling career was surely in doubt. Even just returning to being the same person I was before the accident was questionable.
A few things are different for me know, physiologically on the bike and mentally/emotionally off the bike as well. I would say I've lost a little bit of that edge, that super intensity that engulfs your whole life and puts your sport, your training, and competing, above all else. But I don't think that's necessarily bad. The time off allowed me to take a step back and realize what's really important to me in life away from the bike, what's worth sacrificing for, and what's not.
In 2010, I broke my left arm three different times, in three different places. Having endured a life threatening TBI (traumatic brain injury) before, made the comeback from a mere orthopedic injury seem pretty easy. Bones heal in a known amount of time and you work around that. With a TBI, nobody knows anything about how you will recover, and I have to take it day by day, improving in small increments and rebuilding myself.
Now, after stringing together a solid period of healthiness and optimum training, I'm having one of my best seasons ever, winning the USPRO National title and being named to the Olympic Team. It takes a lot of days and miles to find the race rhythm again and after my serious injuries of the past, I'm finally hitting my stride. Perhaps more so than the physical recovery, my injuries and subsequent comebacks have made me even more focused and determined to make the most out of the healthy times. I realize how rare and precious it is to be 100% healthy and on peak fitness. When that rare window occurs, enjoy it and take full advantage of it. This is the time that makes all the dark times worth it.
Timmy Duggan
Just Go Harder Foundation
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As always, the ACA website - www.coloradocycling.org - is your best source for Colorado racing information. Please contact ACA staff if you need help with licenses, permits, schedules, upgrades - anything racing related. Thanks for sharing this e-newsletter with your friends and family.
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State Championships Recaps - July was Chock-Full of Ridiculously Good Racing 
Masters Colorado Track Championships
The Colorado Springs Velodrome Association and Hammer Racing brought together the state's best masters track racers for a fantastic weekend of events and camaraderie. Athletes participated in a number of events - talk about motivation and fitness! Results are here - Congrats racers and thank you to the CSVA for all your work on the track.
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Longmont Criterium -
Senior Criterium Champs
Twin Peaks Racing hosted the 26th Annual Longmont Criterium, which served as the Senior Criterium Championships. Super fast racing was held on a downtown course that featured the city's historic neighborhoods. Jorge Espinoza took the win in the SM P 1 2, and Cari Higgins captured the SW P 1 2 title. Congrats to all our champions!
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Bob Cook/Mt Evans Hill Climb -
Junior, Senior and Masters HC Champs
Thanks to Team Evergreen Racing, our officials, volunteers and our hosts in the Idaho Springs area, the 2012 Bob Cook Hill Climb was a smashing success. Nearly 1,200 athletes ascended the mountain and we saw three new course records:
SM 35+4 John Barrett
JW 15-16 Jenny Lucke (her dad Peter is a mix1 racer)
JW 17-18 Taylor Fogg (Taylor is the reigning ITU Sprint Triathlon age group World Champion!)
Congrats to these riders and everyone who challenged themselves on Mt Evans, and thank you to the Forest Service for making good decisions for the safety of this event.
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Salida Classic Road Race -
Senior Road Champs
Held on a challenging and tactical course near Salida, the Senior State Champ RR was part of the 2012 Salida Classic. The Classic is directed by South Central Racing, and also includes a time trial and downtown criterium in one of the best mountain towns in Colorado. Congratulations to Amy Charity and ACA Junior Development Program alum Yannick Eckmann for taking the titles in our top categories!
Thank you race directors, host communities, volunteers, officials and athletes for making these Championship events a resounding success!
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August Championship EventsJunior Criterium ChampionshipsThe Mike Nields Memorial Bannock Criterium will once again serve as the Junior Crit Champs. Thanks Front Rangers and Tribella for your work on this event! *
Masters and Juniors Road Race Championships
We have a great new venue for the 2012 Masters and Juniors RR! Thanks to Lima Beans Cycling, who created this event out of thin air in less than a month, we will have a championship event on a brand new course near Keenesburg (only 45 minutes from Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins). Thank you Alan, Keith, JP (the Lima Beans) and Team Rocky Mountain Health Plans for making this event a reality! This event will also raise money for those who lost their homes in the High Park and Waldo Canyon wildfires. Let's show that bike racers can contribute to a better Colorado. Here is the link to more information. Here is the link to the race flyer.
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Additional Insurance for our Officials who are in Vehicles - an Update
Late this spring, the ACA became aware of a liability risk for our race directors and officials who take to the race course in their vehicles (including our motor officials). The ACA is committed to protecting our athletes, race directors, volunteers, officials and host communities from unnecessary risk, and this includes the exposure to liability during the creation and execution of our events. To close this liability risk, since June 1, the ACA has been purchasing, at no cost to racers or race directors, a separate insurance endorsement for our officials who work a race in their vehicles. Please note that it is also very important that those volunteers who drive follow cars on a race course have signed the Volunteer Release Form. Let's all be safe out there, have fun, and make sure that we are buttoned-up from the liability standpoint.
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ACA Sponsor Profile - Lima Beans Cycling Club
We all know that lima beans are good for us, but did you know how much good one club is doing for Colorado racing? One of the ACA's newest clubs is the Littleton Masters Bicycle Racing Clubs, aka Lima Beans Cycling. This small club, which is based in Littleton, was formed in 2011 by Alan Boisvert, who is the genius behind the Karen Hornbostel Memorial Time Trial Series at Cherry Creek State Park. The club was formed to create and direct cycling events in Colorado, including the KHMTT Series, the Bear Creek Lake TT Series, Deer Creek TT (new for 2012), the Masters and Juniors Road Race Championships (new for 2012), and the 2012 Colorado Senior Games cycling events. In addition to providing great events for our racing calendar, Lima Beans Cycling makes a tremendous donation to the ACA with the proceeds from KHMTT. Look for more great events from these guys in the future!
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2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge
Have you picked out your spot to see the 2012 Pro Challenge??!?!? You can do worse than the top of Independence Pass - and there is the added bonus of seeing Frenchie! (Frenchie is a cycling icon and complete character from Aspen who helped train the Grewal brothers in the early '80s). Seriously, the Big Race is beyond fantastic. It connects our sport to Colorado communities in a profound way, generates gazillions of dollars for Colorado businesses, and gives our juniors and young athletes a direct link to cycling greatness. Plus it's a ton of fun! This year, we have worked to incorporate the Pro Challenge into local events, such as the Superior Morgul Classic in May, the Colorado Mini Classic p/b the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in June, and in August we have the King of the Mountain Hill Climb, a time trial up Lookout Mountain that is sponsored by Golden's Stage 6 of the Pro Challenge. The ACA sends a sincere 'Thank You' to Brian Farris, Todd Haavind, and everyone at the Pro Challenge who has worked with us this to connect the Big Race to our local racing community.
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2012 Junior Track Nationals by Kirsten Williams 
ACA Racers Kirsten and Laurel on the top two steps of the podium - 2012 Junior Track Nationals. Photo by Vic Williams. I just got back from a very successful and enjoyable trip to Trexlertown, PA for Junior Track Nationals. I competed in the 15-16 JW Omnium. The omnium awards points to the top five racers in each of the four events. My first race was the points race. Fifteen girls competed in this fast-paced event. Every 6 laps during the 30 lap race, a bell is rung. The first racer to cross the line after the bell lap earns the most points for that sprint. When the first bell was rung, I was in an excellent position to sprint for points, and started the race off well by winning the first sprint. In the 2nd through 3rd sprints I was unable to earn any points, so I was somewhat anxious about my current placing. I got into a good position and was able to win the fourth sprint also, which tied me for first. I did not earn any points in the last sprint, but I still won the bronze medal. The next event, the sprints, began the next morning with a flying 200M time trial. For this event, each rider gets the track to themselves for 2.5 laps. The goal is to get as close to the rail as possible and gain as much speed as you can before you begin your final lap. After going through the first 2 corners of the velodrome, you begin your descent towards the bottom of the track. The final 200 meters are timed, and your time determines your seeding for the sprints. I rode a time of 13.55, which qualified me first. After the 200, I did one match sprint against the 8th place qualifier and I won. Later that day, I competed against the fourth place qualifier in a best two of three heats. After winning the first two, I advanced to the finals for first place. I went up against my friend Laurel, who I often compete against in Colorado. We also would compete for the best two out of three heats. The first round was a game of track stands. I managed to keep my position in the back and attack at the right time in the final lap to win. In the second round, I kept the pace higher and watched Laurel closely. Laurel jumped in turn two, but she clipped her pedal while she was going down the banking and crashed, so we had to start again. This time, she led, but she did track stands again so I ended up in front. She jumped in the same place and I was prepared but I did not respond quickly enough, and she won that heat. In the final heat, I decided that I would ride my race, so when she did track stands I just took the lead. I jumped before the place where I knew she would jump, but she got to the bottom of the track first and took control of the sprinters lane, so I had to go above her. We were even going into the final stretch. It came down to a photo finish, which she narrowly won. This meant that she also won the sprints. The next day began with a team pursuit, which I did with Laurel and Evelyn Korbich, who is from Pennsylvania. In this 9 lap event, each team races against the clock. It is a team time trial on the track but is not part of the omnium. There were five teams, and we placed second to a team with three 18-year-olds, who are headed to The Junior World Championships. In the scratch race that evening, I was very motivated, and I deeply desired to win so that I had a chance to win the omnium. There were a few attacks throughout the race, but none of them stuck. Going into the last lap, we were all together and I was in a very good position. I was watching for someone to go, and Laurel attacked and so did I. We came out of the final turn and I saw the finish line and I went as hard as I could, and I won. It was amazing to win after coming so close to it the day before. Because of how everyone had done in the first three events, Laurel and I were tied for first with 15 points each, ahead of the next girl by 8 points. This meant that whichever of us placed higher in the next day's 500m TT would be the national champion. I knew that I had to be very focused for the next day's 500M TT. About 2 hours before my race I warmed up on a criterium course in a park near the velodrome. Then I hung out in our car in the parking lot and read a book while I listened to music. My Dad came out to the car and got me about 30 minutes before my event. At around 20 minutes before, I spun for 10 minutes and did one cadence build on my trainer. I listened to music and I did not talk to or look at anyone except for my Dad. For the last ten minutes before my start, I sat down and did the same thing. I walked over to the start line and did my 500, which was 1.5 laps around the velodrome from a standing start, and I went as hard as I possibly could. I heard that I had placed second in the 500 and that Laurel was third, which meant that I had won the omnium! It was a wonderful moment, because I knew that my hard work had payed off. On the final day of nationals, I did a team sprint with Laurel. We placed second against four very competitive teams. All in all, I had a very successful, fun, and exciting time at nationals. I would like to thank my parents for supporting me during nationals, and all the other days of my life. I would also like to thank my coach Neal Henderson for writing all of my workouts and for also for giving me tactical advice. Thank you also to Mark Tyson, for training me in sprinting and giving me advice during nationals week. Thanks Natural Grocers, and all of my sponsors, for all of your support. Also, thank you to Maddie Godby, my Dad's friends, my teammates, and many others for giving me advice and encouragement. Above all, thank you, God, for keeping the races safe and for blessing me with this victory. Congratulations Kirsten and Laurel for your great racing at the 2012 Track Nationals! Please make the effort to congratulate and support all of our junior racers. We are all role models for these young athletes.
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